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PART I. 



OUR 

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 

AND 

Political Compendium. 



ALSO CONTAINING LIVES OF THE CANDIDATES FOR VICE- 
PRESIDENT — THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE THREE 
NATIONAL CONVENTIONS — THE THREE PLAT- 
FORMS AND THE THREE LETTERS OF 
ACCEPTANCE. 



LIFE OF GENERAL J. A. GARFIELD, 

By E. B. Kennedy, of the New York Bar. 



LIFE OF GENERAL J. B. WEAVER, 

By Hon. S. D. Dillaye, of the New Jersey Bar. 

LIFE OF GENERAL W. S. HANCOCK, 

By Henry Hill, Journalist, of Newark, N. J. 



POLITICAL COMPENDIUM, 

By F. C. Bliss, Author of " Citizen's Manual," etc 

I_ 

ILL U STRA TED. 






tH o A 
NEWARK, N. J.: 

F. C. BLISS & COMPANY, 
1880. 



81 



COPYRIGHT BY 

F. C. BLISS & COMPANY, 

NEWARK, N. J. 



L. J. HARDHAM, 

Printer and Bookbinder, 

Newark, N. J. 



INTRODUCTION. 



We are on the eve of another Presidential Election and 
the passions, prejudices, favoritism and enthusiasm of the 
masses, are beginning to be exercised and exhibited in a 
thousand forms. This is natural, and perhaps not to be 
condemned if properly controlled, kept within reasonable 
bounds, and exercised in a just and honorable manner. 
Every citizen should act honestly and conscientiously 
after having thoroughly examined the subject matter, in 
every possible light, and from different standpoints. 

There are three political parties in our country, and 
each at its National Convention nominated a candi- 
date for the Presidency. Every party has its great and 
good men, and he who does the most for the preservation 
and welfare of his country, should be considered the great- 
est and best. Men make positions ; positions don't make 
men. Honorable, enterprising, intelligent and resolute 
persons, out of fragments and bits of opportunities, will 
oftimes march onward to honor and renown. 

As political parties, we are fortunate in having now in 
nomination for the highest office in the gift of the people 
the three most popular men of their respective parties, 
and we may say their recognized leaders ; men, all of whom 
have carved, with their own swords, their name imperish- 
ably on the facade of the republic ; men, whose military 
and political careers have been distinguished by marked 
ability, political sagacity and executive force. 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

Again, the publishers are fortunate in securing the ser- 
vices of three so able gentlemen, each of whom from his 
party standpoint, has presented the case of his chosen 
candidate in a manner and with an ability we must all ad- 
mire. Each champion differs from his fellow-champions, 
chiefly in this, that he sees or believes what they do not. 

We have been impartial to each of the Candidates and 
Parties, inserting the proceeding of the Conventions and 
Lives of the Candidates in the order of time, in which they 
took place. 

From the facts and arguments presented, the reader 
must be the sole judge of the merits and qualifications of 
each Candidate ; and having so judged it is his duty to act 
according to the dictates of his own judgment and con- 
science. We trust the book will be found readable, in- 
teresting, and of permanent value to every American 
citizen ; no matter to what party he may belong. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



CONTENTS OF PART I. 



PAGE. 

Proceedings of the National Republican Con- 
vention 7 

The Republican Platform u 

Nomination of Gen. James A. Garfield 16 

Gen. Garfield's Letter of Acceptance 17 

Life and Services of Gen. Garfield 25 

Gen. Garfield's Congressional Record 41 

Life of Gen. Chester A. Arthur 69 

Proceedings of the National Greenback-Labor 

Convention 74 

The Greenback Platform 80 

Nomination of Gen. James B. Weaver 85 

Gen. Weaver's Letter of Acceptance SS 

Life and Services of Gen. Weaver 95 

Gen. Weaver's Gongressional Record 121 

Life of Col. Benjamin J. Chambers 144 

Proceedings of the National Democratic Con- 
vention 1 50 

Nomination of Gen. Winfield S. Hancock. 158 

The Democratic Platform 1 59 

Gen. Hancock's Letter of Acceptance 162 

Life and Services of Gen. Hancock 166 

Gen. Hancock's Military Career 173 

General Hancock's Civil Services 201 

Life of Wm. H. English 219 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF PART I. 



PAGE. 

The National Capitol Frontispiece. 

The Exposition Building, Chicago 7 

Portrait of Gen. James A. Garfield 25 

« " Chester A. Arthur 69 

" James B. Weaver 95 

" Col. Benjamin J. Chambers 144 

The Exposition Building, Music Hall, Cincinnati 150 

1 ORTRAIT OF GEN. WlNFIELD S. HANCOCK l66 

" William H. English 219 

For other Engravings see Part II. 



CHAPTER I. 

PROCEEDINGS OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 

During the present year, three political parties have 
held their conventions, declared their principles, and 
nominated their candidates for the offices of the Presi- 
dent and Vice-President. Two of these were held in 
Chicago, and one in Cincinnati. We will briefly refer to 
the proceedings of each, in the order of time they took 
place. 

THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 

HELD AT CHICAGO, JUNE 2D-8TH, l88o. 

The Seventh National Convention of the Republican 
party met on the 2d day of June, 1880, in Exposition 
Hall, at Chicago, and at five minutes past one o'clock, P. 
M., the Hon. J. Don Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Chairman 
of the National Republican Committee, called the Con- 
vention to order, and, at his request, the Rev. Dr. Kit- 
tredge, of Chicago, opened the proceedings with prayer, 
and Secretary Keogh read the call for the Convention. 

Previous to the opening of the proceedings, the vast 
building and hall presented a scene of striking interest. 
Situated on the lake shore, within a short distance of the 
very heart of the city, it is within a few minutes' walk of 
all the great hotels. The roof, the sides, and every 
available point of the building were decorated with flags 



8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

and banners of every size and description, and within 
the Hall were innumerable decorations, consisting of the 
flags of the nation, the coats-of-arms of the States, por- 
traits of the Republican fathers, busts of national men — 
irrespective of party, and emblems of American achieve- 
ments. 

The portrait of the late Senator Chandler was placed 
over the Chairman's platform, and on the rear wall was 
Mr. Lincoln's portrait, surrounded by his own words, 
" And that government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people, shall not perish from the earth." There 
were portraits of eminent Republicans ; there were busts 
of Franklin, Webster, Jackson, Douglas, Washington, 
Clay and others, set in brackets against the wall. 

Large baskets of flowers ornamented the Chairman's 
desk, and plants were everywhere in profusion, while in 
the centre was stationed a military band, playing patriotic 
and other strains of music. 

After the call had been read, Mr. Cameron briefly 
addressed the Convention, referring to the bitterness 
which had attended the preliminary canvass, and which 
he hoped would now disappear in the desire and deter- 
mination to nominate for President the strongest candi- 
date, and one who would command the respect of the 
civilized world. He counselled harmonious and united 
action. In conclusion, he announced that he had been 
instructed by the National Committee to put in nomina- 
tion for temporary Chairman, the Hon. George F. Hoar, 
of Massachusetts. 

The nomination was unanimously ratified, and Messrs. 
Davis of Texas, Frye of Maine, and Raum of Illinois, 



THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 9 

were appointed a committee to conduct him to the chair. 

Judge Hoar addressed the Convention at some length. 
He said the function of the Convention, if wisely used, 
was that of naming the man whom the people would 
make President. His reference to the nomination of Mr. 
Lincoln, twenty years ago, was greeted with applause. 
Lincoln had gone to rest, but his associate on the ticket, 
Hamlin, was here to-day in full figure, still discharging 
actively his duty to the country and the party. 

He reviewed briefly the history of the late war and its 
political incidents and consequences, and criticised the 
policy of the Democratic party in that connection. 
That party, he claimed, was to-day actuated by the old 
rebel spirit, and North, South, East and West was the 
party of fraud and injustice. In Maine, it ambitiously 
sought to pilfer a whole State, while on the other hand, 
the Republican party tells us of rebellion subdued, of 
slaves enfranchised, sound currency restored, and our 
flag floating everywhere, honored and respected. In 
conclusion, he said that the duties of the chair would be 
discharged fairly, and without respect of persons. 

The Secretaries, and other temporary officers of the 
Convention, were then appointed. The call of the 
States was then proceeded with, and the regular com- 
mittees appointed. 

On June 3d, the Convention was called to order at 
11.45 A. M., and during the morning session, the perma- 
nent organization was completed by the promotion of 
Mr. Hoar to be the President of the Convention, and 
the election of Vice-Presidents and Secretaries. 

Much sparring, and some telling hits were made 



IO OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. "J£ 

between Mr. Conkling, of New York, who was the leader 
of the Grant or third term faction, and Mr. Frye, of 
Maine, who was working in the interests of Mr. Blaine, 
which created at times immense excitement and applause ; 
but very little business was accomplished during the 
sessions of the day. 

When the Convention was called to order on the third 
day, the great Hall was crowded, and presented a brilliant 
spectacle. Every seat, every place where standing room 
could be invented or appropriated, was filled. Prince 
Leopold, of England, and suite, were seated as specta- 
tors upon the platform, and watched all the proceedings 
with keen interest. 

Senator Conkling began the business of the morning 
session, by moving a resolution, pledging each delegate 
to support the nominee of the Convention. The resolu- 
tion was adopted, three West Virginia delegates alone 
voting against it. Mr. Conkling then moved that these 
delegates be declared unworthy to sit in the Convention, 
but after an animated discussion, in which General 
Garfield took a leading part, the Senator withdrew his 
resolution, and the coercion game failed. The evening 
session was a stormy one, and District representation was 
upheld, by a vote of 449 against 306. 

On Saturday, the fourth day of the Convention, Hon. 
Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, Chairman of the 
Committee on Resolutions, reported the same, and they 
were adopted, having first been amended by the insertion 
of a civil service plank, and are as follows : 



THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. II 

THE PLATFORM. 

The Republican party, in National Convention assem- 
bled, at the end of twenty years since the Federal 
Government was first committed to its charge, submits to 
the people of the United States this brief report of its 
administration. It suppressed a rebellion which had 
armed nearly a million of men to subvert the National 
authority. It reconstructed the union of the States, 
with freedom instead of slavery as its corner-stone. It 
transformed 4,000,000 of human beings from the likeness 
of things to the rank of citizens. It relieved Congress 
from the infamous work of hunting fugitive slaves, and 
charged it to see that slavery does not exist. It has 
raised the value of our paper currency from thirty-eight 
per cent, to the par of gold. It has restored, upon a 
solid basis, payment in coin for all the National obliga- 
tions, and has given us a currency absolutely good, and 
equal in every part of our extended country. It has 
lifted the credit of the Nation from the point where six 
per cent, bonds sold at 86c, to that where four per cent, 
bonds are eagerly sought at a premium. Under its 
administration, railways have increased from 31,000 miles 
in i860, to more than 82,000 miles in 1879. Our foreign 
trade has increased from $700,000,000 to $1,150,000,000 
in the same time, and our exports, which were $20,000,- 
.000 less than our imports in i860, were $264,000,000 
more than our imports in 1879. Without resorting to 
loans it has, since the war closed, defrayed the ordinary 
expenses of Government, besides the accruing interest 
on the public debt, and has annually disbursed more than 
thirty millions for soldiers' pensions. It has paid $888,- 
000,000 of the public debt, and by refunding the balance 
at lower rates, has reduced the annual interest charge 
from nearly $151,000,000 to less than $89,000,000. All 
the industries of the country have revived, labor is in 
demand, wages have increased, and throughout the 
entire country there is evidence of a coming prosperity 
greater than we have ever enjoyed. 



12 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Upon this record, the Republican party asks for the 
continued confidence and support of the people, and 
this Convention submits for their approval the following 
statements of the principles and purposes which will 
continue to guide and inspire its efforts : 

First — We affirm that the work of the last twenty-one 
years has been such as to commend itself to the favor of 
the Nation, and that the fruits of the costly victories 
which we have achieved through immense difficulties 
should be preserved ; that the peace regained should be 
cherished ; that the dissevered Union, now happily 
restored, should be perpetuated, and that the liberties 
secured to this generation should be transmitted undimin- 
ished to future generations ; that theorder established 
and the credit acquired should never be impaired ; that 
the pensions promised should be extinguished by the full 
payment of every dollar thereof ; that the reviving 
industries should be further promoted, and that the com- 
merce, already so great, should be steadily encouraged. 

Second — The Constitution of the United States is a 
supreme law and not a mere contract ; out of confeder- 
ated States it made a sovereign Nation. Some powers 
are denied to the Nation, while others are denied to the 
States, but the boundary between the powers delegated 
and those reserved, is to be determined by the National, 
and not by the State tribunals. 

Third — The work of popular education is one left to 
the care of the several States, but it is the duty of the 
National Government to aid that work to the extent of 
its constitutional duty. The intelligence of the Nation 
is but the aggregate of the intelligence in the several 
States, and the destiny of the Nation must be guided, 
not by the genius of any one State, but by the average 
genius of all. 

Fourth — The Constitution wisely forbids Congress to 
make any law respecting an establishment of religion, 
but it is idle to hope that the Nation can be protected 



THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. 13 

against the influence of sectarianism while each State is 
exposed to its domination. We therefore recommend 
that the Constitution be so amended, as to lay the same 
prohibition upon the Legislature of each State, and to 
forbid the appropriation of public funds to the support 
of sectarian schools. 

Fifth — We affirm the belief avowed in 1876, that the 
duties levied for the purpose of revenue should so dis- 
criminate as to favor American labor ; that no further 
grant of the public domain should be made to any rail- 
way, or other corporation ; that slavery having perished 
in the States, the twin barbarity — polygamy — must die in 
the Territories ; that everywhere the protection accorded 
to citizens of American birth must be secured to citizens 
by American adoption, and that we esteem it the duty of 
Congress to develop and improve our watercourses and 
harbors, but insist that further subsidies to private per- 
sons or corporations must cease ; that the obligations of 
the Republic to the men who preserved its integrity in 
the hour of battle are undiminished by the lapse of the 
fifteen years since their final victory — to do them perpet- 
ual honor is, and shall forever be, the grateful privilege 
and sacred duty of the American people. 

Sixth — Since the authority to regulate immigration and 
intercourse between the United States and foreign 
nations, rests with Congress, or with the United States and 
its treaty-making powers, the Republican party, regard- 
ing the unrestricted immigration of the Chinese as an 
evil of great magnitude, invoke the exercise of those 
powers to restrain and limit that immigration by the 
enactment of such just, humane and reasonable provis- 
ions as will produce that result. 

Seventh — That the purity and patriotism which charac- 
terized the earlier career of Rutherford B. Hayes in 
peace and war, and which guided the thoughts of our 
immediate predecessors to him for a Presidential candi- 
date, have continued to inspire him in his career as 



14 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Chief Executive, and that history will accord to his 
Administration the honors which are due to an efficient, 
just and courteous discharge of the public business, and 
will honor his interposition between the people and pro- 
posed partisan laws. 

Eighth — We charge upon the Democratic party the 
habitual sacrifice of patriotism and justice to a supreme 
and insatiable lust of office and patronage ; that to 
obtain possession of the National and State Governments 
and the control of place and position, they have 
obstructed all effort to promote the purity and to con- 
serve the freedom of suffrage, and have devised fraudu- 
lent certifications and returns ; have labored to unseat 
lawfully elected Members of Congress, to secure at all 
hazards the vote of a majority of the States in the House 
of Representatives ; have endeavored to occupy by force 
and fraud the places of trust given to others by the peo- 
ple of Maine, and rescued by the courageous action of 
Maine's patriotic sons ; have, by methods vicious in 
principle and tyrannical in practice, attached partisan 
legislation to appropriation bills, upon whose passage the 
very movements of the Government depends, and have 
crushed the rights of individuals ; have advocated the 
principles and sought the favor of rebellion against the 
Nation, and have endeavored to obliterate the sacred 
memories of the war, and to overcome its inestimably 
valuable results of nationality, personal freedom and 
individual equality. 

The equal, steady and complete enforcement of the 
laws, and the protection of all our citizens in the enjoy- 
ment of all privileges and immunities guaranteed by the 
Constitution, are the first duties of the Nation. The 
dangers of a Solid South can only be averted by a faith- 
ful performance of every promise which the Nation has 
made to the citizen. The execution of the laws and the 
punishment of all those who violate them, are the only 
safe methods by which an enduring peace can be secured 



NOMINATING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. 15 

and genuine prosperity established throughout the South. 
Whatever promises the Nation makes the Nation must 
perform, and the Nation cannot with safety regulate this 
duty to the States. The Solid South must be divided by 
the peaceful agencies of the ballot, and all opinions must 
there find free expression ; and to this end the honest 
voter must be protected against terrorism, violence or 
fraud. 

And we affirm it to be the duty and the purpose of the 
Republican party to use every legitimate means to restore 
all the States of this Union to the most perfect harmony 
that may be practicable, and we submit it to the practi- 
cal, sensible people of the United States to say whether 
it would not be dangerous to the dearest interests of our 
country at this time to surrender the administration of 
the National Government to the party which seeks to 
overthrow the existing policy under which we are so 
prosperous, and thus bring distrust and confusion where 
there are now order, confidence and hope. 

The Republican party, adhering to the principles 
affirmed by the last National Convention, of respect for 
the constitutional rules governing appointment to office, 
adopts the declaration of President Hayes that the 
reform in the Civil service shall be thorough, radical and 
complete ; to that end it demands the co-operation of 
the legislative with the executive departments of the 
Government, and that Congress shall so legislate that 
fitness, ascertained by proper practical tests, shall admit 
to the public service. 

The next order of business was the selection of a can- 
didate for the Presidency, and the names of James G. 
Blaine, Ulysses S. Grant, John Sherman, George F. 
Edmunds, Elihu B. Washburn and William Windom, 
were duly presented, with forcible and appropriate 
remarks. 



l6 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

On Monday, the 7th of June, the balloting commenced. 
On the first ballot, Grant received 304, Blaine 284, Sher- 
man 93, Edmunds 34, Washburn 30, and Windom 10. 
Whole number of votes, 755 — necessary to a choice, 378. 
There being no choice, balloting was resumed after a 
brief discussion, and during the day at both sessions 
twenty -eight ballots were taken, with but little change, as 
on the 28th ballot Grant received 307, Blaine 278, Sher- 
man 91, Edmunds 31, Washburn 35, Windom 10, and 
Garfield 2. 

On Tuesday, June 8th, the Convention was called to 
order at 10.30 A. M., and balloting was resumed at once, 
with but little change. On the 34th ballot, however, 
Garfield received 17 votes, and on the next he received 
50. When the roll was called for the 36th ballot, the 
Blaine and Sherman States began to cast their votes for 
General Garfield, from the beginning of the call. It 
soon became plain that the contest was between Grant 
and Garfield. 

A feeling of intense excitement soon reigned, and the 
crowd broke out repeatedly into tremendous cheering, 
interrupting the call. The band began to play " Hail to 
the Chief," and cannon began to fire a salute before the 
call was finished. General Garfield rose to a point of 
order, and said his name could not be used without his 
consent ; but the call went on without heeding it. 
The ballot resulted as follows : 

Whole number of votes, 755 
Necessary to a choice, 378 
Grant, ... 306 
Blaine, . . . .42 



JAMES A. GARFIELD S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. I 7 

Sherman, . . . .3 
Washburn, ... 5 
Garfield, . . . 399 

A scene of great enthusiasm followed. Congratulatory 
speeches were made by Conkling, Logan, Hale, Pleasants 
and others, and the nomination was made unanimous, 
and after singing " Rally Round the Flag," etc., a recess 
was taken. 

After recess, at the evening session, Mr. Frye, of 

Maine, was called to the chair. Nominations were made 

for Vice-President, and the name of Chester A. Arthur, 

of New York, being presented by General Woodford, 

one ballot was taken, resulting as follows : 

Whole number of votes, 743 

Necessary to a choice, 373 

Washburn, . . 193 

Jewell, ... 44 

Maynard, . . .30 

Bruce, ... 8 

Arthur, . . . 468 

The nomination was then made unanimous, and at 
7.35 P. M. the Convention adjourned, sine die. 

The following is General Garfield's Letter of Accept- 
ance, addressed to Hon. George F. Hoar, Chairman, &c. : 

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

Mentor, O., July 12. 

Dear Sir : On the evening of the 8th of June last I 
had the honor to receive from you in the presence of the 
committee of which you were chairman, the official an- 
nouncement that the Republican National Convention at 



t 8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Chicago had that day nominated me as their candidate 
for President of the United States. I accept the nom- 
ination with gratitude for the confidence it implies, and 
with a deep sense of the responsibilities it imposes I 
cordially indorse the principles set forth m the platform 
adopted by the Convention. On nearly all the subjects 
of which it treats, my opinions are on record among the 
published proceedings of Congress. I venture, however, 
To make special mention of some of the principal topics 
which are likely to become subjects of discussion. 

Without reviewing the controversies which have been 
settled during the last twenty years, and with no purpose 
or wish to revive the passions of the late war, it should 
be said that while the Republicans fully recognize and 
will strenuously defend all the rights retained by the 
people, and all the rights reserved to the States, they re- 
ject the pernicious doctrine of State supremacy which so 
long crippled the functions of the National Government, 
and at one time brought the Union very near to destruc- 
tion They insist that the United States is a nation 
with ample power of self-preservation ; that its Constitu- 
tion and the Laws made in pursuance thereof are the 
supreme law of the land ; that the right of the Nation to 
determine the method by which its own Legislature shall 
be created, cannot be surrendered without abdicating one 
of the fundamental powers of Government ; that the 
National laws relating to the election of Represe ntattves 
in Congress, shall neither be violated nor evaded ; that 
every elector shall be permitted, freely and without 
intimidation, to cast his lawful ballot at such election and 
have it honestly counted, and that the potency of his 
vote shall not be destroyed by the fraudulent vote of any 

0t The P best thoughts and energies of our people should 
be directed to those great questions of National wd 1- 
being, in which all have a common interest. Such efforts 
will soonest restore perfect peace to those who were 



JAMES A. GARFIELD S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. I 9 

lately in arms against each other ; for justice and good- 
will will outlast passion. But it is certain that the 
wounds of the war cannot be completely healed, and the 
spirit of brotherhood cannot fully pervade the whole 
country until every citizen, rich or poor, white or black, 
is secure in the free and equal enjoyment of every civil 
and political right guaranteed by the Constitution and 
the laws. Wherever the enjoyment of these rights is not 
assured, discontent will prevail, immigration will cease, 
and the social and industrial forces will continue to be 
disturbed by the migration of laborers and the conse- 
quent diminution of prosperity. The National Govern- 
ment should exercise all its constitutional authority to 
put an end to these evils ; for all the people and all the 
States are members of one body, and no member can 
suffer without injury to all. The most serious evils 
which now afflict the South, arise from the fact that there 
is not such freedom and toleration of political opinion 
and action that the minority party can exercise an effec- 
tive and wholesome restraint upon the party in power. 
Without such restraint, party rule becomes tyrannical and 
corrupt. The prosperity which is made possible in the 
South by its great advantages of soil and climate, will 
never be realized until every voter can freely and safely 
support any party he pleases. 

POPULAR EDUCATION. 

Next in importance to freedom and justice, is popular 
education, without which neither freedom nor justice can 
be permanently maintained. Its interests are intrusted 
to the States and to the voluntary action of the people. 
Whatever help the Nation can justly afford, should be 
generously given to aid the States in supporting common 
schools ; but it would be unjust to our people and dan- 
gerous to our institutions to apply any portion of the 
revenues of the Nation, or of the States, to the support 
of sectarian schools. The separation of the Church and 



20 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

the State, in everything relating to taxation, should be 
absolute. 

THE NATIONAL FINANCES. 

On the subject of National finances, my views have 
been so frequently and fully expressed, that little is 
needed in the way of additional statement. The public 
debt is now so well secured and the rate of annual inter- 
est has been so reduced by refunding, that rigid economy 
in expenditures and the faithful application of our sur- 
plus revenues to the payment of the principal of the 
debt, will gradually but certainly free the people from 
its burdens, and close with honor the financial chapter of 
the war. At the same time, the Government can provide 
for all its ordinary expenditures, and discharge its sacred 
obligations to the soldiers of the Union, and to the 
widows and orphans of those who fell in its defence. 
The resumption of specie payments, which the Republi- 
can party so courageously and successfully accomplished, 
has removed from the field of controversy many ques- 
tions that long and seriously disturbed the credit of the 
Government and the business of the country. Our 
paper currency is now as National as the flag, and 
resumption has not only made it everywhere equal to 
coin, but has brought into use our store of gold and 
silver. The circulating medium is more abundant than 
ever before, and we need only to maintain the equality 
of all our dollars to insure to labor and capital a measure 
of value from the use of which no one can suffer loss. 
The great prosperity which the country is now enjoying, 
should not be endangered by any violent changes or 
doubtful financial experiments. 

THE TARIFF. 

In reference to our custom laws, a policy should be 
pursued which will bring revenues to the Treasury, and 
will enable the labor and capital employed in our great 



JAMES A. GARFIELD S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 2 1 

industries to compete fairly in our own markets with the 
labor and capital of foreign producers. We legislate for 
the people of the United States, and not for the whole 
world ; and it is our glory that the American laborer is 
more intelligent and better paid than his foreign com- 
petitor. Our country cannot be independent unless its 
people, with their abundant natural resources, possess 
the requisite skill at any time to clothe, arm and equip 
themselves for war, and in time of peace to produce all 
the necessary implements of labor. It was the manifest 
intention of the founders of the Government to provide 
for the common defence, not by standing armies alone, 
but by raising among the people a greater army of arti- 
sans, whose intelligence and skill should powerfully con- 
tribute to the safety and glory of the nation. 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Fortunately for the interests of commerce, there is no 
longer any formidable opposition to appropriations for 
the improvement of our harbors and great navigable 
rivers, provided that the expenditures for that purpose 
are strictly limited to works of National importance. 
The Mississippi river, with its great tributaries, is of such 
vital importance to so many millions of people, that the 
safety of its navigation requires exceptional considera- 
tion. In order to secure to the Nation the control of all 
its waters, President Jefferson negotiated the purchase of 
a vast territory, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to 
the Pacific Ocean. The wisdom of Congress should be 
invoked to devise some plan by which that great river 
shall cease to be a terror to those who dwell upon its 
banks, and by which its shipping may safely carry the 
industrial products of 25,000,000 of people. The inter- 
ests of agriculture, which is the basis of all our material 
prosperity, and in which seven-twelfths of our popula- 
tion are engaged, as well as the interests of manufactur- 
ers and commerce, demand that the facilities for cheap 



22 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

transportation shall be increased by the use of all our 
great watercourses. 

CHINESE IMMIGRATION. 

The material interests of this country, the traditions 
of its settlement and the sentiment of our people, have 
led the Government to offer the widest hospitality to 
emigrants who seek our shores for new and happier 
homes, willing to share the burdens as well as the benefits 
of our society, and intending that their posterity shall 
become an undistinguishable part of our population. 
The recent movement of the Chinese to our Pacific 
coast, partakes but little of the qualities of such an 
immigration, either in its purposes or its results. It is 
too much like an importation to be welcomed without 
restriction ; too much like an invasion to be looked upon 
without solicitude. We cannot consent to allow any form 
of servile labor to be introduced among us under the 
guise of immigration. Recognizing the gravity of this 
subject, the present Administration, supported by Con- 
gress, has sent to China a Commission of distinguished 
citizens, for the purpose of securing such a modification 
of the existing treaty, as will prevent the evils likely to 
arise from the present situation. It is confidently 
believed that these diplomatic negotiations will be suc- 
cessful without the loss of commercial intercourse 
between the two Powers, which promises a great increase 
of reciprocal trade and the enlargement of our markets. 
Should these efforts fail, it will be the duty of Congress 
to mitigate the evils already felt, and prevent their 
increase by such restrictions as, without violence or 
injustice, will place upon a sure foundation the peace of 
our communities and the freedom and dignity of labor. 

THE CIVIL SERVICE. 

The appointment of citizens to the various executive 
and judicial offices of the Government is, perhaps, the 



james a. Garfield's letter of acceptance. 23 

most difficult of all duties which the Constitution has 
imposed on the Executive. The Convention wisely 
demands that Congress shall co-operate with the Execu- 
tive Departments in placing the Civil Service on a better 
basis. Experience has proved that with our frequent 
changes of administration no system of reform can be 
made effective and permanent without the aid of legisla- 
tion. Appointments to the military and naval service 
are so regulated by law and custom as to leave but little 
ground for complaint. It may not be wise to make 
similar regulations by law for the civil service. But, 
without invading the authority or necessary discretion of 
the Executive, Congress should devise a method that will 
determine the tenure of office, and greatly reduce the 
uncertainty which makes that service so uncertain and 
unsatisfactory. Without depriving any officer of his 
rights as a citizen, the Government should require him to 
discharge all his official duties with intelligence, efficiency 
and faithfulness. To select wisely from our vast popu- 
lation those who are best fitted for the many offices to be 
filled, requires an acquaintance far beyond the range of 
any one man. The Executive should, therefore, seek 
and receive the information and assistance of those 
whose knowledge of the communities in which the duties 
are to be performed, best qualifies them to aid in making 
the wisest choice. 

The doctrines announced by the Chicago Convention 
are not the temporary devices of a party to attract votes 
and carry an election ; they are deliberate convictions 
resulting from a careful study of the spirit of our insti- 
tutions, the events of our history, and the best impulses 
of our people. In my judgment, these principles should 
control the legislation and administration of the Govern- 
ment. In any event, they will guide my conduct until 
experience points out a better way. 

If elected, it will be my purpose to enforce strict 
obedience to the Constitution and the laws, and to pro- 



24 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

mote, as best I may, the interest and honor "of the whole 
country, relying for support upon the wisdom of Con- 
gress, the intelligence and patriotism of the people, and 
the favor of God. With great respect, I am very truly 

yours, 

J. A. Garfield. 

To the Hon. George F. Hoar, Chairman of Co?7i?nit1ee„ 




GEN. JAMES A. GAKFIELD. 



CHAPTER II. 
LIFE AND SERVICES OF GEN. JAMES A. GARFIELD, 

BY EDWARD B. KENNEDY. 

On June 8th, 1880, the Republican party in National 
Convention assembled, nominated James A. Garfield, 
of Ohio, as its candidate for the office of President of the 
United States. 

It is but natural that, as soon as a citizen is nominated 
for that high office, all thinking men should wish to learn 
his past history in order that they may judge of his men- 
tal and moral endowments and qualifications, and so be 
able to judge intelligently whether or not he is worthy of 
their suffrages. It is to meet such a want that this 
sketch has been written. 

It is one of our proudest boasts that our republican 
institutions offer an opportunity for any person, no mat- 
ter how poor or how humble his origin, to rise to the 
highest position within the gift of the people, provided 
he possesses the elements of character necessary to 
achieve success. 

The life of General Garfield is a practical illustration 
of the fact that neither poverty nor obscurity, nor both 
combined, can succeed in conquering the man who is 
possessed of intellect, perseverance and integrity, and 
who meets a difficulty only to surmount it. 

On both his father's and his mother's side, General 



26 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Garfield comes of old New England stock. The family 
records do not go back of his great-grandfather, Solomon 
Garfield, who lived at Weston, Massachusetts. Abraham 
Garfield, a brother of Solomon, was in the fight at Con- 
cord Bridge, and was one of those who sent affidavits to 
the Continental Congress to prove that the British were 
the aggressors in that affair. At the close of the Revo- 
lutionary War, he moved to Otsego county, New York. 
He bought wild land in the township of Worcester, 
where he settled. He had five children, one of whom, 
Thomas, was General Garfield's grand-father. 

Thomas Garfield grew up in Worcester, married there, 
and had four children. He died when only thirty years 
old, of small-pox, which he had contracted during a 
journey to Albany. His son, Abram, the father of Gen- 
eral Garfield, was but two years of age when his father 
died, and was bound out to James Stone, a relative on his 
mother's side. He left his guardian when only fifteen 
years old, and went to Madrid, St. Lawrence county, 
New York, where he resided for about three years. 

At the age of eighteen he made his way to Newburg, 
Ohio, where he succeeded in obtaining employment. 

There had resided in the township of Worcester at the 
same time with the Garfields, a family of Ballous. They 
were of Huguenot origin, and were directly descended 
from a Huguenot fugitive who had settled in Rhode 
Island. The Ballou and the Garfield children had been 
educated together in the same district school in Worces- 
ter. In 1 814 they removed from Otsego county to Perry 
Township, near Zanesville, Ohio. 

In 1820, Abram Garfield left Newburg, Ohio, to join 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 27 

his Otsego county friends and former neighbors. Here 
he renewed his acquaintance with Eliza Ballou, and on 
the third of February, 1820, they were married, he being 
at this time a few months short of his majority, and she 
but eighteen. 

Immediately on his marriage, Abram Garfield removed 
to Newburg, Ohio, now a part of the city of Cleveland, 
where he continued to reside for nearly six years. Three 
children were born here, Mehetable in 182 1, Thomas in 
1822, and Mary in 1824. In 1826 he procured a contract 
to construct three miles of canal, and with his family he 
removed to New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county. 
They resided there for three years, during which time 
one son was born, James B., the only child they ever lost. 
He died in 1830. 

In January, 1830, Abram went to Orange Township, 
Cuyahoga county. His half-brother, Amos Boynton, the 
child of his mother by her second marriage, lived there. 
They each bought a tract of wild land of about eighty 
acres in extent at $2.00 an acre, and proceeded to cut 
out their farms. For a few weeks the families lived 
together in a log house, built by the joint labor of the 
two men; but Garfield soon erected a house of his own 
near by. It was of the prevailing pattern of log houses. 
Its walls were of logs, its roof of rudely split shingles, 
and its floor of rough planking. The house had only one 
room, one end of which served as a kitchen, while at the 
other stood the bedstead. The younger children at night 
occupied a trundle-bed, which, during the day, was put 
under the parents' bed to be out of the way and give 
more room, while the older children climbed a ladder to 



28 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

a small loft where they found sleeping accommodations. 
In this house, on November 19, 1831, was born James 
Abram Garfield. 

By constant toil, his father was clearing his land, 
planting fields, where but a short time since the forest 
had stood, and the future seemed all bright, when sud- 
denly he was removed by death. During the Spring of 
1833, a fire broke out in the woods, and Abram Garfield 
exerted himself to the utmost to keep the fire from his 
fences and fields. He became over-heated, and sitting 
down to rest where a cold wind blew, contracted a vio- 
lent sore throat. By means of blisters, a country doctor 
succeeded in choking him to death. He was buried in a 
corner of a wheat field on his farm. 

His death threw the family into great distress. They 
were deeply in debt, and Thomas, the oldest son, was 
but ten years of age. It seemed as though the home- 
stead must be sold, and the family broken up. 

Against the advice of her neighbors, Mrs. Garfield 
determined to keep her family together, sold fifty acres 
of the farm to pay the debts left by her husband, and 
managed by hard work and the exercise of the most 
rigid economy to rear her children. 

Thomas did not marry until he was thirty, and now 
resides in Michigan. The two sisters are married, and 
live in Salem, Ohio. 

During the Winter months, young Garfield received 
some tuition in the district schools, and in the Summer 
season he worked upon the farm, or in a carpenter's 
shop. Early in life he was ambitious to secure a good 
education, and all his efforts were bent in that direction. 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 29 

Finding that the men employed on the Ohio and Erie 
Canal, which ran near his house, procured better wages 
than could be earned at the carpenter's bench, he 
became when seventeen years old a driver, and was sub- 
sequently advanced to the position of boatman. 

Early in the year 1849, ne determined to ship as a 
sailor on the lakes. From this he was dissuaded by his 
mother, after much labor. In March, his mother and his 
brother Thomas furnished him with $17, and in company 
with his cousins, William and Henry Boynton, he went 
to Chester, in order to attend the Academy at that place. 

As they were not able to pay the price asked for board 
— $1.50 per week — they took a few cooking utensils, and 
hiring a room in an old, unpainted farm-house, they pre- 
pared their own meals. Here he first saw his future wife, 
Lucretia Randolph, a student at the same Academy with 
him. There was no association between them at this 
time, however, save in the classes. 

There was a literary society connected with the Acad- 
emy, and young Garfield began to take part in the 
debates, though not without many misgivings. 

At the end of the term of twelve weeks, James went 
home, helped his brother on the farm, and worked at 
harvesting for day's wages. With the money he earned, 
he paid off the balance of a doctor's bill incurred during 
a fever brought on by hard work and exposure during 
his labors on the canal. When he returned to Chester in 
the fall, he was almost penniless. He made an arrange- 
ment with a carpenter to board him for $1.00 per week, 
and this sum he expected to earn by helping the carpen- 
ter on Saturdays. He succeeded in this arrangement, 



30 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

and at the close of the term returned home with $3.00 of 
his earnings in his pockets, and his debts all paid. 

He now thought himself competent to teach school, 
and spent some time in searching for a position, but he 
met with so many rebuffs, that at last, thoroughly dis- 
couraged, he resolved never to seek another position, a 
resolution to which he has strictly adhered, all of his 
many civil, military and political positions having been 
conferred upon him without any solicitation on his part. 
While in this state of mind, he was offered the position 
of teacher at the district school at the " Ledge." The 
school had been broken up for two winters by the 
ruffianism of the larger scholars. He accepted the offer, 
took charge of the school, came out victor in a severe 
tussle with the district bully, and succeeded by patience, 
firmness and ingenuity in acquiring the affection and 
respect of both parents and scholars. As was the cus- 
tom in those days, he boarded around the district. 

In the Spring he had $48 — more money than he had 
before possessed at any one time. He had long wished 
to secure a college education, but had regarded it as 
beyond his reach. But when he returned to Chester for 
his third term, he met a college graduate who furnished 
him with such information, that he resolved to bend all 
his energies to that one purpose. He thought that by 
hard work, both to prepare himself to enter, and to 
furnish himself with means to pay his expenses, he could 
get through in twelve years. He now began to study 
such things as were required to fit him for college. 
Before returning to Chester in the spring, he had united 
with the Disciples' Church, and his religious experience, 



Life of james a. garfield. 31 

together with the prospect of procuring the object of his 
desire, caused him to forever abandon his boyhood's idea 
of becoming a sailor. 

When the spring term ended, he returned home, and 
during the summer worked at harvesting and carpenter- 
ing. In the fall he again returned to Chester, and in the 
winter he taught school in Warrensville for $16 a month 
and board. One of the scholars wished to study 
geometry, and Garfield, who had never advanced so far 
in mathematics, bought a. text book, studied nights and 
took his pupil through, without its once being suspected 
but that the master was fully informed. 

In the spring he went with his mother to visit some 
relatives in Muskingum county, and during this journey 
rode for the first time on a railroad. While on this visit 
he taught a spring school on Back Run, in Harrison 
township. 

In the summer he returned to Orange and decided to 
continue his education at Hiram College, a new institu- 
tion just established by the Disciples at Hiram, Portage 
county, Ohio, and in August, 185 1, he entered there. He 
lived in a room with four other pupils, and continued 
energetically to prepare himself for college. During 
this term he made rapid progress in Latin and Greek. 
In the winter he again taught school at Warrensville, 
earning $18 a month. When the spring came, he re- 
turned to Hiram to prosecute his studies, and during the 
summer vacation he worked at his trade as a carpenter. 

At Hiram, he met two women, who both exercised a 
large influence over his future life. One, Miss Almeda 
A. Booth, was a teacher in the school, and possessed- a 
a* 



32 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

mind of remarkable strength and range. She guided 
and accompanied him in his studies, and the friendship 
established here continued until her death a few years 
since. The other was his former fellow-student at 
Chester, Lucretia Randolph, now his wife. Her father 
had settled at Hiram to educate his four children. A 
strong mutual attachment sprung from their association, 
and they entered into an engagement to marry as soon as 
Garfield succeeded in establishing himself. 

At the beginning of his second year at Hiram, one of 
the teachers was forced to suspend his labors by reason 
of illness, and young Garfield was made a tutor in his 
place, and during his subsequent stay there was both 
teacher and scholar, and was working all this time to fit 
himself for college. His future wife recited to him two 
years in Greek. 

When Garfield commenced his course at Hiram, he 
had studied Latin only six weeks, and had just com- 
menced Greek, and was therefore just ready to begin 
his four years preparatory course to fit himself to enter 
the Freshman class at college. Yet in three years he 
fitted himself to enter the Junior class, two years further 
along, thus crowding the work of six years into three, 
and at the same time earning his own living by teaching 

In the Spring of 1854, he wrote to the Presidents of 
Yale, Williams and Brown, stating what his studies had 
been, and enquiring what class he could enter, provided 
he passed satisfactory examinations in them. They all 
wrote that he could enter the Junior class. President 
Hopkins added this sentence to the business part of his 
letter : " If you come here, we shall do what we can for 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 33 

you," and this seemed to Garfield to extend a helping 
hand to him and caused him to decide to enter Williams 
College. He had been pressed to go to a college in 
Bethany, Virginia, which had been founded by Alexander 
Campbell, and was under the auspices of the Disciples. 
But wishing to secure better opportunities for learning 
and culture, he resisted all endeavors to dissuade him 
from entering Williams. 

How to get the money necessary to pay his college 
expenses, was a problem which caused him much 
anxiety. During his stay at Hiram he had been able to 
put aside a small amount, but not sufficient to carry him 
through his two years course. A kind-hearted gentle- 
man, many years his senior, loaned him the amount, and 
so set at rest his fears on that point. Garfield was so 
scrupulous about the payment of this debt, that he pro- 
cured an insurance on his life for its amount, and gave 
the policy to his creditor, telling him that if he lived he 
would pay the debt off, and if he died, the policy would 
be security against loss. Soon after he was graduated, 
the debt was repaid. 

He went to Williams in the Fall of 1854, and passing 
a satisfactory examination entered the Junior class. His 
college course was marked by the same unflagging zeal 
and unwearied application which has always character- 
ized him in every undertaking. He pursued his studies 
closely and carefully, and entered on a course of reading 
in general literature, which served to broaden his mind 
and furnished him with much valuable information which 
was of great service to him in after years. Here he first 
became acquainted with the works of celebrated novel- 



34 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

ists, and his enjoyment and appreciation of them was 
very great. Prior to this time, he had been disposed to 
regard the reading of light literature, as a waste of pre- 
cious time. Now, however, he was forced to turn to it as 
a means of rest and recreation, to a mind wearied and 
worn by constant and unremitting toil, with weighty 
matters. 

During his stay at Williams, he occupied his vacation 
time by teaching, and during one winter it is said he 
taught a district school at North Pownal, Vt., which 
during the preceding winter had been taught by Chester 
A. Arthur, now his associate on the Republican ticket. 
At one time he taught a school at Poestenkill, Rensselaer 
county, New York, a small village near Troy. While 
there he often visited Troy, and became well acquainted 
with many persons residing in that city. He received a 
very tempting offer of a position as a teacher in one of 
the schools in that place, and although it offered him an 
opportunity to discharge his debts, and to at once obtain a 
situation of comparative comfort, he refused it, because 
it involved his relinquishing his cherished plan of com- 
pleting his college course. In 1856 he was graduated 
from Williams with honor. Ex-President Hopkins ^as 
said of him that while his college life was not marked by 
any remarkable occurrence, it was so because it was a 
fully and perfectly rounded life, and in all respects just 
such a life as that of every college student should be. 
Among his classmates he was noted for his wonderful 
industry as a student, his physical activity in college 
games, and his heartiness and cordiality in social matters. 

After the close of his college course he returned to 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 35 

Ohio, and in a short time he became Professor of Latin 
and Greek at Hiram College. During the following year, 
when only twenty-six years old, Garfield was made the 
President of this institution. His influence in his new 
position was remarkable. He more than doubled the 
attendance, raised t % e standard of scholarship, strength- 
ened the faculty, and inspired all with his own enthusiasm, 
energy and zeal. 

It has been said that at one time General Garfield 
was a minister, but this is not so. The only foundation 
for the statement rests on the fact that he used to speak 
in the churches of the denomination of which he was a 
member. The Disciples had no regular ministers, but 
supported a few traveling elders, and very often were 
addressed by their own lay members who had the ability 
to preach. 

During all of General Garfield's connection with 
Hiram College, he followed closely and with his accus- 
tomed energy and zeal, the study of his chosen profession 
of the law, and at the same time read largely of general 
literature. 

It seemed now as though his place in life was won, and 
he was united to the object of his youthful affections, 
Lucretia Randolph. Miss Randolph was a well educated, 
refined and affectionate young lady. She shared with 
her husband his thirst for learning, and his ambition for 
culture, and has been his companion in all his studies. 
Much of General Garfield's success in his subsequent 
career, may justly be attributed to his fortunate marriage. 

In 1857 and 1858, General Garfield had taken quite an 
active part in the political campaigns, and had acquired a 



36 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

reputation as a vigorous, eloquent and logical orator. In 
1859 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate, to repre- 
sent the counties of Portage and Summit. He did not 
think a few weeks during the winter, spent at Columbus, 
would seriously break in upon or interfere with his work 
at Hiram College, and so accepted the position. His 
most intimate friend in the Senate was Jacob D. Cox, 
afterwards Major-General, Governor of Ohio, and Secre- 
tary of the Interior under President Grant. During the 
session of 1860-61, Garfield vigorously aided the State to 
prepare to assist the general government in the conflict 
which was approaching. When the cloud of civil war 
descended upon the country, Garfield put aside every- 
thing and entered the army. A company was formed 
consisting entirely of students of Hiram College, and 
was attached to the 42d Ohio Infantry. At that time the 
regiments when organized elected their own field officers 
by ballot, and Garfield was chosen by the 426. Ohio as its 
Colonel. 

The regiment took the field in Eastern Kentucky, 
then under command of General D. C. Buell, and 
forming part of the " Department of the Ohio." 
The force under Buell was expected to push on in the 
direction of Tennessee, and occupy all of the territory 
included in his department. The movements of the 
rebels in Eastern Kentucky caused a brief diversion from 
this object, and seriously threatened to inflict severe 
injury to him if he moved. Humphrey Marshall was in 
the field, and at the beginning of January, 1862, was in 
the command of about 2,500 insurgents, intrenched in 
the neighborhood of Paintsville, in Johnstown county, 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 37 

on the main branch of the Big Sandy River, that forms 
the boundary line between Kentucky and Virginia. 
Colonel Garfield was assigned to the command of the 
1 8th Brigade, and was ordered by General Buell to drive 
Marshall out of Kentucky. His force was outnumbered 
two to one, and he was entirely without any military 
experience, while opposed to him was a force well 
intrenched, and commanded by an officer who had served, 
during the Mexican war, with distinction. 

Colonel Garfield's force was composed of the 426. Ohio 
and 14th Kentucky Regiments of Infantry, and 300 of the 
2d Virginia Cavalry. By a forced night march along the 
course of the river, a march of great danger and diffi- 
culty, and undertaken at an inclement season of the year, 
he succeeded in reaching Marshall's position, only to find 
that Marshall on hearing of his approach had fled in 
alarm up the river in the direction of Prestonburg. 
Garfield's cavalry was at once dispatched in pursuit, and 
succeeded in overtaking Marshall's cavalry at the mouth 
of Junio Creek, from which point, after a brief encounter, 
they drove them several miles. 

On the following day, Colonel Garfield set out in 
pursuit with about 1,100 of his men, and succeeded 
in overtaking Marshall in the Forks of Middle creek, 
where he was strongly posted. Here they fought 
a battle which lasted from one o'clock in the afternoon 
until dark, and resulted in the entire defeat of Marshall, 
and the driving him from all his positions. Garfield 
having been reinforced by 700 men, was enabled to make 
victory at the Battle of Prestonburg complete. Marshall 
fled, after having destroyed all his baggage. He left, 



38 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

however, a small force in Pound Gap, which was well 
fortified, and held as a post of observation. 

On March 14, 1862, Colonel Garfield, with a force of 
500 Infantry and 200 Cavalry, started to dislodge them. 
After a hard march of ten days, he succeeded in reaching 
the Gap, and at once proceeded to attack the position. 
Sending his cavalry ahead on the road to attract the 
enemy's attention, he with his infantry scaled the rocks to 
their post unobserved. A few volleys sufficed to scatter 
the force left to hold the Gap, and it fled. The services 
here performed were of vastly more importance, strate- 
gically considered, than the number of men employed in 
them would seem to indicate. They put an end to a 
flank movement which was seriously interfering with 
Buell's plans, and served to clear Eastern Kentucky 
entirely. For his services in this brief campaign, Colonel 
Garfield was rewarded with the commission of Brigadier- 
General of Volunteers. 

He was now ordered to join Buell, and was assigned to 
the command of the 20th Brigade. He was in command 
of this Brigade when Buell reached Grant at Pittsburgh 
Landing, and took part in the second day's battle. He 
also commanded it at the seige of Corinth. In August, 
he was forced by reason of ill health to abandon for a 
time active operations in the field, and at this time he was 
made a member of the Court-Martial to try Fitz John 
Porter. 

In January, 1863, he was again ordered to active duty, 
and directed to report to General Rosecranz, who had 
been placed in command of the "Army of the Cumber- 
land." 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 39 

General Rosecranz offered him the position of Chief 
of Staff, which he accepted. At the battle of Chicka- 
mauga he personally wrote every order, save one, 
submitting each one to the Commanding General for 
approval. That one was the fatal order which lost the 
day. The officer who wrote it failed to express it clearly, 
and General Wood, to whom it was sent, misunderstood 
its meaning, the result being that the movement made in 
consequence of it, opened a gap in the line, through 
which the rebels poured, flanking and annihilating Gen- 
eral Rosecranz's right wing. 

Trying vainly to check the retreat of Rosecranz, Gen- 
eral Garfield was swept with his Chief back beyond Ross- 
ville. But he could not concede that the defeat had been 
entire, and obtained permission of Rosecranz to proceed 
to General Thomas's head-quarters. Not knowing the 
precise position of Thomas, he took his course in 
the direction indicated by the sound of the guns. It was 
a perilous ride. His horse was shot under him, and his 
orderly killed by his side. Alone, he pushed on over the 
obstructed road, through pursuers and pursued, reached 
Thomas, told him of the disaster on the right, and 
explained how he could withdraw his right wing and fix 
it upon a new line to meet Longstreet. The movement 
was made just in time, but Thomas's line was too short. 
Longstreet poured his men into the gap, and would have 
destroyed Thomas, but for the timely arrival of General 
Granger, with Steedman's division. 

After a terrible struggle, unequalled even upon this terri- 
ble day, Longstreet was driven back. As night closed in 
upon the gallant Army of the Cumberland, Generals Gar- 



4° OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

field and Granger on foot, and enveloped in smoke, 
directed the loading and pointing of a battery of Napoleon 
guns, whose flash as they thundered after the retreating 
column of the assailants, was the last light that shone 
upon the battle field of Chickamauga. 

For his services at Chickamauga, General Garfield was 
promoted to be Major-General of Volunteers. 

"General Garfield's military career was not of a nature 
to subject him to trials on a large scale. He approved 
himself a good, independent commander in the small 
operations in the Sandy Valley. His campaign there 
opened our series of successes in the West ; and though 
fought against superior forces, began with us the habit of 
victory. After that he was only a subordinate. But he 
always enjoyed the confidence of his immediate superi- 
ors, and of the Department. As a Chief of Staff, he 
was unrivalled. There, as elsewhere, he was ready to 
accept the gravest responsibilities in following his convic- 
tions. The bent of his mind was aggressive ; his judg- 
ment of purely military matters was good ; his papers on 
the Tullahoma campaign will stand a monument of his 
courage, and his far-reaching, soldierly sagacity ; and his 
conduct at Chickamauga will never be forgotten by a 
nation of brave men." 



*\Yhue;aw Reid's " Ohio in the War." 



M 



CHAPTER III. 

HIS CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, 

In the Summer of 1862, when every one was looking 
for the speedy termination of the War, a number of offi- 
cers who had achieved distinction by reason of services 
in the field, were selected at home for Representatives in 
Congress. 

Among the number was General Garfield. He was 
elected from the district which had formerly been rep- 
resented by Joshua R. Giddings, by a large majority. 
This honor which had been conferred upon him while he 
was serving with his brigade in Kentucky, and had been 
entirely unsought by him, and which was therefore all 
the more valued, caused him considerable trouble. To 
leave his command and return to peaceful scenes, while 
there was still work to do in the field, even though 
it would only be a change of duty, seemed to him almost 
like desertion. He nearly resolved on several occasions 
that he would resign his seat in Congress, and remain in 
the military service. But the earnest solicitation and 
advice of his friends, coupled with the fact that there 
was no prospect of any active military operations during 
the winter months, finally decided him to take his new 
office. He retained his position in the Army, however, 
until it was absolutely necessary for him to resign 
in order to take his seat. General Garfield has often 
expressed regret that he did not serve through the war. 



42 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

In Congress, General Garfield at once became eminent. 
His natural sagacity and discernment, his studiousness, 
his logic and eloquence, all combined to place him in the 
front rank of the Republican leaders. He was placed on 
the Military Committee, of which General Schenck was 
Chairman, and by his intelligence and untiring energy, 
was of great service in carrying through the measures 
which recruited the armies during the closing years of 
the war. 

Here, as elsewhere, General Garfield prosecuted his 
studies with a zeal which nothing could abate. Finding 
himself called upon to legislate on matters concerning 
the finances, tariff, internal revenue, and all questions of 
political economy and public policy which can come 
before a legislative body, he entered upon an arduous 
course of study in order that he might not only be him- 
self informed on all these matters, but that he might be 
able to inform others who had not his opportunities for 
study, of the true principles which should guide and con- 
trol their action. All with whom he came in contact saw 
that he was destined to make his mark upon the politics 
of the country. 

In 1864, he was renominated without opposition, and 
re-elected by an increased majority. He served on the 
Committee of Ways and Means. 

In 1866, his renomination was opposed by a few of his 
constituents, on the ground that he did not favor as high 
a tariff on iron as they wished. He was, however, 
renominated by the Convention, and was re-elected by a 
large majority. During this term, he was Chairman of 
the Committee on Military Affairs, and took an active 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 43 

part in remodeling the Army, and looking after the 
demands of discharged soldiers for pay and bounty, of 
which many had been deprived. 

In 1868, General Garfield was again re-elected, and 
was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Banking 
and Currency, and was also on the Committee on the 
Ninth Census. 

In 1 87 1, General Garfield was made Chairman of the 
Committee on Appropriations, which post he held until 
1875, when the Democrats gained control of the House 
of Representatives. Under his leadership, the expendi- 
tures of the Government were largely reduced, and a new 
and better system of estimates and appropriations 
devised, which provided a closer accountability on the 
part of those who disbursed the money, and full informa- 
tion on the part of those who should vote to appropriate 
it of its intended use. 

When James G. Blaine went to the Senate, General 
Garfield was chosen by the Republicans as their candi- 
date for Speaker, and by custom, became the acknowl- 
edged leader of that party in the House. This position 
he had really long held by virtue of his well known prob- 
ity of character and acknowledged ability. In January 
last he received an honor never before conferred upon 
any Ohio Republican, that of a unanimous nomination 
by the Republicans of the Ohio Legislature to the office 
of Senator of the United States. He was elected to 
succeed Hon. Allen G. Thurman, whose term of office 
expires on March 4, 1881. 

As General Garfield has been before the country for 
twenty years, eighteen years of which time have been 



44 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

spent in the House of Representatives, and as during all 
of that time he has been one of the leaders of the Repub- 
lican party, his views on all important topics have been 
expressed again and again in his public utterances, and 
we can best gain a knowledge of those views on matters 
of policy which are now of so much moment, by turning 
to those utterances and weighing fairly and candidly their 
meaning and their bearing. 

His financial views, always sound, have been strength- 
ened by his studies. At all times has General Garfield 
been an advocate of honest money ; at all times has he 
stood up and manfully striven against the assaults of the 
inflationists. As early as 1866, when the din of carnage 
had scarcely subsided, he began to advocate the payment 
and retirement of the Greenbacks. On March 19, 1866, 
in a speech on a bill introduced for that purpose, he 
said : 

" I am an advocate of paper money, but that paper 
money must represent what it professes on its face. I 
do not wish to hold in my hand the printed lies of the 
Government ; I want its promise to pay signed by the 
high officers of the Government, sacredly kept in the 
exact meaning of the words of the promise. Let us not 
continue this conjurer's art by which sixty cents shall 
discharge a debt of one hundred cents. I do not want 
industry everywhere to be thus crippled and wounded, 
and its wounds plastered over Avith legally authorized 
lies. ***** 

" I propose, sir, to let the house take the responsibility 
of adopting or rejecting this measure. On the one side, 
it is proposed to return to solid and honest values ; on 
the other, to float in the boundless and shoreless sea of 
paper money, with all its dishonesty and broken pledges. 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 45 

* * * * Choose the one, and you float away into 
an unknown sea of paper money that shall know no 
decrease, until you take just such a measure as is now 
proposed to bring us back again to solid values. Delay 
the measure, and it will cost the country dear ; adopt it 
now, and with a little depression and a little stringency 
in the money market, the worst will be over and we shall 
have reached the solid earth. Sooner or later, such a 
measure must be adopted. Go on as you are now going, 
and a financial crisis, worse than that of 1837, will bring 
us to the bottom." 

In an article on " The Currency Conflict," published 
in the Atlantic Monthly for February, 1876, General 
Garfield discusses the financial question at length. We 
give a few extracts : 

" Three thousand years of experience have proved 
that the precious metals are the best materials of which 
to make the standard of value, the instrument of ex- 
change. They are themselves a store of value ; they are 
durable, divisible, easily transported, and more constant 
in value than any other known substances. In the form 
of dust and bars, as merchandise, their value is precisely 
equal to their declared value as money, less the very 
small cost of coinage. Coin made of these metals 
measures wealth, because it represents wealth in itself, 
just as the yard-stick measures length, and the standard 
pound measures weight, because each has, in itself, that 
which it represents. 

"Again, the precious metals are products of labor, 
and their value, like that of all other merchandise, 
depends upon the cost of production. A coin represents 
and measures the labor required to produce it ; it may 
be called an embodiment of labor. Of course this state- 
ment refers to the average cost of production throughout 
the world, and that average has varied but little for 
many centuries. It is a flat absurdity to assert that such 



46 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

a reality as labor can be measured and really represented 

by that which costs little or no labor. For these reasons 

the precious metals have been adopted by the common 

law of the world as the best materials in which to 

embody the unit of money. 

****** 

The word ' dollar ' is the substantive word, the funda- 
mental condition of every contract, of every sale, of 
every payment, whether at the Treasury or at the stand 
of the apple woman in the street. The dollar is the 
guage that measures every blow of the hammer, every 
article of merchandise, every exchange of property. 
Forced by the necessities of war, we substituted for this 
dollar the printed promise of the government to pay a 
dollar. That promise we have not kept. We have sus- 
pended payment, and have compelled the citizen to 

receive dishonored paper in place of money. 

****** 

In all such transactions, capital is usually able to take 
care of itself. The laborer has but one commodity for 
sale, his day's work. It is his sole reliance. He must 
sell it to-day or it is lost forever. What he buys must be 
bought to-day. He cannot wait till prices fall. He is 
at the mercy of the market. Buying or selling, the 
waves of its fluctuations beat against him. Daniel 
Webster never uttered a more striking truth than when 
he said : ' Of all the contrivances for cheating the labor- 
ing classes of mankind, none has been more effectual 
than that which deludes them with paper money. This 
is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich 

man's field by the sweat of the poor man's face.' 
****** 

"The duty of the government to make its currency 
equal to real money, is undeniable and imperative. 
First, because the public faith is most solemnly pledged, 
and this alone is a conclusive and unanswerable reason 
why it should be done, The perfidy of one man, or of a 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 47 

millio.n men, is as nothing compared with the perfidy of 
a nation. The public faith was the talisman that brought 
to the Treasury thirty-five hundred million dollars in 
loans, to save the life of the nation, which was not worth 
saving if its honor be not also saved. The public faith 
is our only hope of safety from the dangers that may 
assail us in the future. The public faith was pledged to 
redeem these notes in the very act which created them, 
and the pledge was repeated when each additional issue 
was ordered. It was again repeated in the act of 1869, 
known as the * act to strengthen the public credit,' and 
yet again in the act of 1875, promising redemption in 
'1879. , . 

kk Second. The government should make its currency 
equal to gold, because the material prosperity of the 
people demands it. Honest dealing between man and 
man requires it. Just and equal legislation for the peo- 
ple, safety in trade — domestic and foreign, security in 
business, just distribution of the rewards of labor — none 
of these are possible until the present false and uncer- 
tain standard of value has given place to the real, the 
certain, the universal standard. Its restoration will 
hasten the revival of commercial confidence, which is 
the basis of all sound credit. 

" Third. Public morality demands the re-establish- 
ment of our ancient standard. The fever of speculation 
which our fluctuating currency has engendered, cannot 
be allayed till its cause is destroyed. A majority of all 
the crimes relating to money that have been committed 
in public and private life since the war, have grown out 
of the innumerable opportunities for sudden and inordin- 
ate gains which this fluctuation has offered. 

****** 

" Our public faith is the symbol of our honor and the 
pledge of our future safety." 

General Garfield has been the constant and untiring 
enemy of all classes and character of political jobbery 

3 



48 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

and corruption. During his term of service as Chair- 
man of the Appropriations Committee, the famous act 
for increasing the salaries of Congressmen, known as the 
" Salary grab," and which was made to operate retro- 
actively, was introduced by General B. F. Butler, of 
Massachusetts, and was strenuously opposed at every 
step by General Garfield, he both speaking and voting 
against it, and only consenting to its final passage when 
it became necessary to save bringing on an extra session 
of Congress. His name is fourth on the list of those 
who covered their " back pay " into the Treasury. 

It has been charged against him that he was bribed to 
make large appropriations on behalf of the Board of 
Public Works of Washington, by a fee of $5,000 paid by 
certain persons interested in the notorious " De Golyer" 
pavement patents. The facts in regard to the case are 
very simple. In 1874 a gentleman in General Garfield's 
district wrote to Hon. J. M. Wilson, who was chairman 
of 'the Joint Committee on the part of the House, a 
letter of inquiry as to the testimony affecting Garfield, 
and received in answer the following letter, which fully 
states all that was adduced before the committee, which 
in any way related to or affected General Garfield : 

CONNERSVILLE, Ind., AllgUSt I, 1874. 

Hon. George IV. Steele: 

Dear Sir : To the request for information as to 
whether or not the action of General Garfield in con- 
nection with the affairs of the District of Columbia was 
the subject of condemnation by the committee that 
recently had those affairs under consideration, I answer 
that it was not; nor was there, in my opinion, any 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 49 

evidence that would have warranted any unfavorable 
criticism upon his conduct. 

The facts disclosed by the evidence, so far as he is 
concerned, are briefly these : 

The Board of Public Works was considering the ques- 
tion as to the kind of pavements that should be laid. 
There was a contest as to the respective merits of various 
wooden pavements. Mr. Parsons represented, as attorney, 
the De Golyer & McClelland patent, and being called 
away from Washington about the time the hearing was to 
be had before the Board of Public Works on this subject, 
procured General Garfield to appear before the Board in 
his stead and argue the merits of this patent. This he 
did, and this was the whole of his connection in the 
matter. It was not a question as to the kind of contract 
that should be made, but as to whether this particular 
kind of pavement should be laid. The criticism of the 
committee was not upon the pavement in favor of which 
General Garfield argued, but was upon the contract 
made with reference to it ; and there was no evidence 
which would warrant the conclusion that he had anything 
to do with the latter. 

Very respectfully, &c, 

J. M. Wilson. 

During the Greeley campaign of 1872, charges of 
bribery and corruption in connection with the " Credit 
Mobilier " were brought against a number of Republican 
Congressmen. It was alleged that they had accepted 
stock in that corporation, which was of great value, as 
pay for their official action. Among those whose names 
were so used was General Garfield. 

At the opening of the next session of Congress a 
committee was appointed to investigate the charges. 
After a long and thorough examination of all the wit- 



50 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

nesses, documents, and facts, the committee reported, 
distinctly acquitting General Garfield of all charges of a 
corrupt nature. General Garfield testified before this 
committee on January 14th, 1873, " I never owned, 
received, or agreed to receive any stock of the Credit 
Mobilier or of the Union Pacific Railroad, or any 
dividend or profits arising from either of them." He 
also said in substance that Oakes Ames offered him some 
of the stock ; that he enquired as to the liability of 
stockholders, and Mr. Ames could not then inform him. 
Subsequently learning that there was a question as to Mr. 
Ames' right to sell the stock, he informed Ames that he 
had concluded not to buy ; that the only money tran- 
saction he had ever had with Ames was that on his 
return from a European trip, being in need of money, he 
had borrowed $300 from Ames, which he had repaid. 
Against this testimony is set the testimony of Oakes 
Ames. Mr. Ames had testified on December 17th, 1872, 
" I agreed to get 10 shares of stock for him, and hold it 
until he could pay for it. He never did pay for it, or 
receive it." When asked if Garfield ever received any 
dividends he said, " No, sir ; I think not. He says he 
did not. My own recollection is not very clear." When 
questioned in regard to the loan he said, "Yes, I am 
willing to so understand it. I do not recollect paying 
him any dividend, and have forgotten that I paid him 
any money." This testimony entirely corroborates that 
of General Garfield. Ames agrees that the stock was 
never paid for, or received ; that there was a loan of 
$300, and that he can remember no payment of 
dividends. 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 5 1 

After General Garfield had testified, Ames was 
recalled, when he testified: "In June (no year given) 1 
received a dividend in cash on his stock of $600 — which 
left a balance due him of $329 — which I paid him." 

The conflict between this and Ames' earlier testimony 
is obvious. Then he had no recollection of paying any 
dividend. Now he speaks precisely of $329. Then he 
recalled a loan of three hundred or four hundred 
dollars. Now, when asked if he ever made such a loan, 
he says : " Not to my knowledge, except that he calls 
this a loan." 

The points of agreement and difference between 
General Garfield's testimony and Mr. Ames' may thus be 
stated : They agree that soon after the session of 1867-8, 
Mr. Ames offered to sell General Garfield ten shares of 
Credit Mobilier stock at par and accrued interest ; that 
General Garfield never paid him any money on that 
offer ; that General Garfield never received a certificate 
of stock ; that after the month of June, 1868, General 
Garfield never received, demanded or was offered any 
dividend in any form on that stock. They also agreed 
that General Garfield once received from Mr. Ames a 
small sum of money. On the following points they 
disagreed : Mr. Ames claims that General Garfield agreed 
to take the stock. General Garfield denies it. Mr. 
Ames claims that General Garfield received from him 
$329 and no more, as a balance of dividends on the 
stock. General Garfield denied it, and asserted that he 
borrowed from him $300 and no more, and afterward 
returned it, and that he never received anything from 
him on account of stock. 



52 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Now as to the proof. Part of the memoranda offered 
by Mr. Ames in evidence were the entriv > in his diary 
for 1868. The account entered under General Garfield's 
name was one of three not crossed off, which Mr. Ames 
explained was because it had never been settled or 
adjusted. Here is the entry in full . 

GARFIELD. 

10 shares Credit M $1,000 00 

7 mos. 10 days 43 36 

Total $1,043 36 

80 per cent. bd. div., at 97 776 00 

$267 36 
Int. to June 26 3 64 

Total $271 00 

1,000 C. M. 
1,000 U. P. 

Notwithstanding he said he had no other entry in 
relation to Mr. Garfield on the 2 2d of January, Mr. 
Ames presented to the committee a statement of an 
alleged account with General Garfield, as follows : 

J. A. G. Dr. 

1868. To 10 shares stock Credit Mobilier of A $1,000 

Interest 47 

June 1 9. To cash 329 

Total $1,376 

Cr. 
1868. By dividend bonds Union Pacific Railroad $1,000 

at 80 per cent., less 3 per cent $776 

June 17. By dividend collected for your account 600 

Total $1 ,376 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 53 

This account lie claimed to have made up from his 
memorandum book, but when the memoradum hook was 
subsequently presented it was found th.it the account 
here quoted was not copied from it, but was partly made 
up from memory. By comparing this account with the 
entry made in diary, as first quoted, it will be seen that 
they are not duplicates either in substance or form ; and 
that in this account a new element is added, namely, an 
alleged payment of $329 in cash June 19. This is the 
very element in dispute. The pretended proof that this 
sum was paid General Garfield is found in the production 
of a check drawn by Mr. Ames on the Sergeant-at-Arms. 
The following is the language*of the check as reported 
in the testimony : 

June 22, 1868. 

Pay O. A. or bearer three hundred and twenty-nine 
dollars and charge to my account. 

Oakes Ames. 

This check bears no indorsement or other marks than 
the words and figures given above. It was drawn on the 
22d day of June, and, as shown by the books of the Ser- 
geant-at-Arms, was paid the same day. But if this 
check was paid to General Garfield on the account just 
quoted it must have been delivered to him three days 
before it was drawn, for the account says that he received 
payment on the 19th of June. 

General Garfield himself has made a review of the 
whole subject, and from it claims that the following 
conclusions are clearly established by the evidence : 

That I neither purchased nor agreed to purchase the 
Credit Mobilier stock which Mr. Ames offered to sell 



54 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

me, nor did I receive any dividend arising from it. This 
appears not only from my own testimony, but from that 
first given by Mr. Ames, which is not overthrown by his 
subsequent statements, and is strongly confirmed by the 
fact that in the case of each of those who did purchase 
the stock there was produced as evidence of the sale 
either a certificate of stock, receipt of payment, a check 
drawn in the name of the payee or entries in Mr. Ames' 
diary of a stock account marked, adjusted and closed, 
but that no one of these evidences existed in reference to 
me. This position is further confirmed by the subse- 
quent testimony of Mr. Ames, who though he claimed 
that I did receive $329 from him on account of stock, 
yet he repeatedly testified that beyond that amount I 
never received or demanded any dividend ; that none 
was ever offered to me, nor was the subject ever alluded 
to in conversation. Mr. Ames admitted in his testimony 
that after December, 1867, the various stock and bond 
dividends amounted to an aggregate of more than 800 
per centum, and that between January, 1868, and May, 
187 1, all these dividends were paid to several of those 
who had purchased stock. My conduct was wholly 
inconsistent with the supposition of such ownership, for 
during the year 1869 I was borrowing money to build a 
house in Washington, and securing my creditors by 
mortgages on my property ; and all this time it is admitted 
that I received no dividends and claimed none. The 
attempt to prove a sale of the stock to me is wholly 
inconclusive, for it rests first on a check payable to Mr. 
Ames himself, concerning which he said several times in 
his tes f imony he did not know to whom it was paid, and, 
second, upon loose undated entries in his diary, which 
neither prove a sale of the stock nor any payment on it. 
The only fact from which it is possible for Mr. Ames to 
have inferred an agreement to buy the stock was the loan 
to me of $300. But that loan was made months before 
the check of June 22, 1868, and was repaid in the 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 55 

winter of 1869, and after that date there were no tran- 
sactions of any sort between us, and before the investi- 
gation ended Mr. Ames admitted that on the chief point 
of difference between us he might be mistaken. 

That the offer which Mr. Ames made to me, as I 
understood it, was one which involved no wrong or 
impropriety. I had no means of knowing and had no 
reasons for supposing that behind this offer to sell me a 
small amount of stock lay hidden a scheme to defraud 
the Pacific Railroad and imperil the interests of the 
United States, and on the first intimation of the real 
nature of the case I declined any further consideration 
of the subject. That whatever may have been the facts 
in the case, I stated them in my testimony as I have 
always understood them ; and there has been no contra- 
diction, prevarication nor evasion on my part. 

In winding up his review of the whole matter General 
Garfield uses the following language : 

If there be a citizen of the United States who is will- 
ing to believe that for $329 I have bartered away my 
good name, and to falsehood have added perjury, these 
words are not addressed to him. If there be one who 
thinks that any part of my public life has been gauged 
on so low a level as these charges would place it, I do 
not address him. I address those who are willing to 
believe that it is possible for a man to serve the public 
without personal dishonor. I have endeavored in this 
review to point out the means by which the managers 
of a corporation wearing the garb of honorable industry 
have robbed and defrauded a great national enterprise, 
and attempted by cunning and deception for selfish ends 
to enlist in its interests those who would have been the 
first to crush the attempt had their objects been known. 

Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, a prominent 
Democrat, bears testimony to General Garfield's entire 
3* 



56 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

innocence in this matter. In a letter written to Hon. 
James G. Blaine, he says : 

Philadelphia, Feb. 13, 1873. 

My Dear Sir : — From the beginning of the investiga- 
tion concerning Mr. Ames' use of the Credit Mobilier, I 
believed that General Garfield was free from all guilty 
connection with that business. This opinion was founded 
not merely on my confidence in his integrity, but on 
some special knowledge of his case. I may have told 
you all about it in conversation, but I desire now to 
repeat it by way of reminder. 

In the winter of 1869-70, I told General Garfield of 
the fact that his name was on Ames' list : That Ames 
charged him with being one of his distributees ; ex- 
plained to him the character, origin and object of the 
Credit Mobilier ; pointed out the connection it had with 
Congressional legislation, and showed him how impossi- 
ble it was for a member of Congress to hold stock in it 
without bringing his private interest in conflict with his 
public duty. That all this was to him a perfectly new 
revelation, I am as sure as I can be of such a fact, or of 
any fact which is capable of being proved only by moral 
circumstances. He told me then the whole story of 
Train's offer to him and Ames' subsequent solicitation 
and his own action in the premises, much as he details it 
to the committee. I do not undertake to reproduce the 
conversation, but the effect of it all was to convince me 
thoroughly, that when he listened to Ames he was per- 
fectly unconscious of anything evil. I watched carefully 
every word that fell from him on this point, and did not 
regard his narrative of the transaction in other respects 
with much interest, because, in my view, everything else 
was insignificant. I did not care whether he made a 
bargain technically binding or not : his integrity de- 
pended upon the question whether he acted with his eyes 
open. If he had known the true character of the pro- 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 57 

position made to him, he would not have endured it, 
much less embraced it. 

The utter groundlessness of the charges against Gen- 
eral Garfield is clearly demonstrated. But for the fact 
that some of those politically opposed to him thought 
they saw a chance to remove a powerful and much feared 
opponent, and with a recklessness and malice which 
nothing can even palliate, endeavored to do so by de- 
stroying what is more precious to him than life — his 
honor, we never should have heard of these accusations. 
But acting on the principle that a " lie well stuck to is as 
good as the truth," these charges have been again and 
again repeated, notwithstanding the fact that their utter 
falsity and baselessness has been repeatedly demonstrated. 

In the course of one of his masterly speeches, General 
Garfield, in speaking of President Johnson's course, 
alluded to General Hancock, who had then recently 
been placed in command of Louisiana, as follows : 

" Mr. Speaker, I will not repeat the long catalogue of 
obstructions which he has thrown in the way by virtue of 
the power conferred upon him in the Reconstruction law 
of 1867, but I will allude to one example where he has 
found in a Major-General of the Army a facile instru- 
ment with which more effectually to obstruct the work 
of reconstruction. This case is all the more painful 
because an otherwise meritorious officer, who bears hon- 
orable scars earned in battle for the Union, has been 
made a party to political madness which has so long 
marked the conduct of the President. This General 
was sent into the District of Louisiana and Texas with a 
law of Congress in his hand, — a law that commands him 
to see that justice is administered among people of that 
country, and that no pretence of civil authority shall 



58 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

deter him from performing his duty, — and yet we find 
that officer giving lectures in the form of proclamations 
and orders on what ought to be the relation between the 
civil and military departments of the Government. We 
see him issuing a general order in which he declares 
that the civil should not give way before the military. 
We hear him declaring that he finds nothing in the laws 
of Louisiana and Texas to warrant his interference in 
the civil administration of those States. It is not for 
him to say which should be first, the civil or the military, 
in that rebel community. It is not for him to search the 
defunct laws of Louisiana and Texas for a guide to his 
conduct. It is for him to obey the laws which he has 
sent there to execute. It is for him to aid in building up 
civil governments, rather than preparing himself to be 
the Presidential candidate of the party which gave him 
no sympathy when he was gallantly fighting the battles 
of the country." 

It will be born in mind that this speech was delivered 
on January 17, 1868, — over twelve years ago. 

In 1870, Mr. Niblack, of Indiana, in speaking for the 
Democrats, insisted that the expenditures and burdens of 
the War were properly chargeable to the Republican 
party. General Garfield at once replied, and a few 
words of his are well worth quoting : 

" I desire to ask that gentleman and his party one 
question. Suppose that in the year 1861 every Democrat 
north of the Potomac and the Ohio had followed the 
lead of Grant, and Douglas, and Dickinson, and Tod, 
and all the other great lights of the Democratic party ; 
had thrown away the Democratic name ; said that they 
would be Democrats no longer, as we said we would be 
Republicans no longer, but all would be Union men, and 
stand together around the flag until the rebellion had 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 59 

been put under our feet. I desire to ask the gentleman 
if these things had happened, how long the war would 
have lasted, and how much the war would have cost ? I 
do not hesitate to say that it could not have lasted a 
month, and the expenditures of the war would never 
have exceeded $10,000,000. I say, as a matter of cur- 
rent history, that it was the great hope of the rebels of the 
South that the assistance of the Democratic party of the 
North would divide our forces and overcome all our 
efforts ; that at the ballot-box the Democrats at home 
would help the cause which they were maintaining in the 
field. It was that, and that alone, which protracted the 
war and created our immense debt. I come, therefore, 
to the door of your party, gentlemen on the other side, 
and I lay down at your threshold every dollar of the 
debt, every item of the stupendous total which expresses 
the great cost of the war ; and I say if you had followed 
Douglas there would have been no debt, no blood, no 
burden." 

During the long session of Congress in 1876, Hon. L. 
Q. C. Lamar of Mississippi, then a Member of the 
House, but since elected to the Senate, endeavored to 
prove that the best interests of the country would be 
promoted by the elevation to power of the Democratic 
party, and sharply arraigned the Republican party for 
many alleged short-comings. On August 4th, 1876, a 
few days after Mr. Lamar had spoken, General Garfield 
replied. A fter stating Mr. Lamar's position, he consid- 
ered the origin of the ideas which had controlled the 
parties in the past. He stated that nearly two centu- 
ries before this time two utterly irreconcilable and antag- 
. onistic ideas had been implanted in this Continent. One 
was landed with the Pilgrim fathers, at Plymouth, and 
was, that all men were created free and equal, and were 



60 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

entitled to the fruits of their own labor. The other was 
landed with a colony in Virginia, and was, that one man 
had a right to own another, and possess himself of the 
fruits of his labor. After tracing down the career of 
these two ideas, and showing how though at first they 
lived, and grew and strengthened alongside of each 
other, yet, as the country filled up, there was found not 
to be room for both, and the irrepressible conflict finally 
broke forth. He showed the connection of the Demo- 
cratic party with the latter of these two ideas. He then 
went on to say : 

" Mr. Chairman : It is now time to inquire as to the 
fitness of this Democratic party to take control of our 
great nation, and its vast and important interests for the 
next four years. I put the question to the gentleman 
from Mississippi (Mr. Lamar), what has the Democratic 
party done to merit that great trust? He tries to show 
in what respects it would not be dangerous. I ask him 
to show in what it would be safe ? 

" I affirm, and I believe I do not misrepresent the 
great Democratic party, that in the last sixteen years they 
have not advanced one great national idea that is not 
to-day exploded, and as dead as Julius Caesar. And if 
any Democrat here will rise and name a great national 
doctrine his party has advanced within that time, that is 
now alive and believed in, I will yield to him. [A pause.] 
In default of an answer, I will attempt to prove my 
negative. 

" What were the great central doctrines of the Demo- 
cratic party in the Presidential struggle of i860 ? The 
followers of Breckenridge said slavery had a right to go 
wherever the Constitution goes. Do you believe that 
to-day? And is there a man on this Continent that holds 
that doctrine to-day ? Not one. That doctrine is dead 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 6l 

and buried. The other wing of the Democracy held 
that slavery might be established in the Territories if the 
people wanted it. Does anybody hold that doctrine 
to-day ? Dead, absolutely dead. 

" Come down to 1864. Your party, under the lead of 
Tilden and Vallandigham, declared the experiment of 
war to save the Union was a failure. Do you believe 
that doctrine to-day ? That doctrine was shot to death 
by the guns of Farragut at Mobile, and driven in a tem- 
pest of fire from the Valley of the Shenandoah by Sher- 
idan in less than a month after its birth at Chicago. 

"Come down to 1868. You declared the Constitu- 
tional Amendments revolutionary and void. Does any 
man on this floor say so to-day ? If so, let him rise and 
declare it. 

" Do you believe in the doctrine of the Broadhead 
letter of 1868, that the so-called Constitutional Amend- 
ments should be disregarded ? No ! The gentleman 
from Mississippi accepts the results of the War. The 
Democratic doctrine of 1868 is dead. 

" I walk across that Democratic camping-ground, as in 
a grave-yard. Under my feet resound the hollow echoes 
of the dead. There lies slavery, a black marble column 
at the head of its grave, on which I read : ' Died in the 
flames of the Civil War ; loved in its life, lamented in its 
death ; followed to its bier by its only mourner, the Dem- 
cratic party, but dead.' And here is a double grave : 
i Sacred to the memory of squatter sovereignty ; died in 
the campaign of i860.' On the reverse side : 'Sacred to 
the memory of Dred Scott and the Breckenridge doc- 
trine ; both dead at the hands of Abraham Lincoln.' 
And here, a monument of brimstone : ' Sacred to the 
memory of the Rebellion ; the war against it is a failure.' 
— Tilden et Vallandigham fecerunt, A. D. 1864. Dead 
on the field of battle ; shot to death by the million guns 
of the Republic. The doctrine of secession, of State 
sovereignty, dead. Expired in the flames of civil war, 



62 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

amid the blazing rafters of the Confederacy, except that 
the modern ^Eneas fleeing out of the flames of that ruin, 
bears on his back another Anchises of State sovereignty, 
and brings it here in the person of the honorable gentle- 
man from the Appomattox district of Virginia (Mr. 
Tucker). All else is dead. 

" Now, gentleman, are you sad, are you sorry for these 
deaths ? Are you not glad that secession is dead ? that 
slavery is dead ? that squatter sovereignty is dead ? that 
the doctrine of the failure of the War is dead ? Then 
you are glad that you were out-voted in i860, in 1864, in 
1868, and in 1872. If you have tears to shed over these 
losses, shed them in the grave-yard, but not in this House 
of living men. I know that many a Southern man 
rejoices that these issues are dead. The gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Lamar), has clothed his joy with 
eloquence. 

" Now, gentlemen, come with me for a moment into the 
camp of the Republican party, and review its career. 
Our central doctrine in i860 was that slavery should 
never extend itself over another foot of American soil. 
Is that doctrine dead ? It is folded away like a victori- 
ous banner ; its truth is alive forever more on this Con- 
tinent. In 1864, we declared that we would put down 
the Rebellion and secession. And that doctrine lives, 
and will live when the second Centennial has arrived. 
Freedom, national, universal, and perpetual, our great 
Constitutional Amendments, are they alive, or dead ? 
Alive ! thank the God that shields both liberty and union. 
And our national credit. Saved from the assaults of 
Pendleton : saved from the assaults of those who struck 
it later, rising higher and higher at home and abroad, and 
only now in doubt lest its chief, its only enemy, the 
Democracy, should triumph in November." 

At the special session of the present Congress, which 
was brought on by reason of the failure of the former 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 63 

Congress to pass the Appropriation Bills, General Gar- 
field, in a speech attacking the Democracy because of its 
refusal to vote supplies for the Government unless certain 
" riders " repealing laws then in force, were allowed to be 
incorporated in the Appropriation Bills, said : 

" I desire to ask the forbearance of the gentlemen on 
the other side for remarks I dislike to make, for they will 
bear witness that I have in many ways shown my desire 
that the wounds of the War should be healed, and that 
the grass that God plants over the graves of our dead may 
signalize the return of the Spring of friendship and peace 
between all parts of the country. But I am compelled 
by the necessity of the situation to refer for a moment to 
a chapter of history. 

" The last act of the Democratic domination in this 
House, eighteen years ago, was stirring and dramatic, but 
it was heroic and whole-souled. Then the Democratic 
party said : ' If you elect your man as President of the 
United States, we will shoot your Union to death.' 

"And the people of this country, not willing to be 
coerced, but believing they had a right to vote for Abra- 
ham Lincoln if they chose, did elect him lawfully as 
President, and then your leaders, in control of the major- 
ity of the other wing of this Capitol, did the heoric thing 
of withdrawing from their seats, and your Representa- 
tives withdrew from their seats, and flung down to us the 
gage of mortal battle. We called it rebellion, but we 
admitted that it was honorable, that it was courageous, 
and that it was noble to give us the fell gage of battle, 
and fight it out in the open field. 

" That conflict, and what followed, we all know too 
well ; and to-day, after eighteen years, the book of your 
domination is opened where you turned down your leaves 
in i860, and you are signalizing your return to power by 
reading the second chapter (not this time an heroic one), 
that declares that if we do not let you dash a statute out 



64 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

of the book, you will not shoot the Union to death as in 
the first chapter, but starve it to death, by refusing the 
necessary appropriations. 

" You, gentlemen, have it in your power to kill it by 
this movement. You have it in your power, by withhold- 
ing these two bills, to smite the nerve centers of our 
Constitution to the stillness of death, and you have 
declared your purpose to do it if you cannot break down 
the elements of free consent, that, up to this time, have 
always ruled in the Government." 

The effect of this attack was to eventually cause the 
Democrats to abandon their announced policy, step by 
step, and finally to pass the Appropriation Bills, without 
securing the repeal of any of the laws which they wished 
to expunge from the statute books. It opened the eyes 
of the people-at-large to the purposes of the Democracy, 
and caused their overwhelming defeat at the polls in the 
ensuing elections. 

At a speech delivered at the re-union of the survivors 
of Andersonville, at Toledo, on October 3, 1879, General 
Garfield, after portraying in vivid terms the terrible 
ordeal through which they had been called to pass, and 
the steadfastness they displayed, said : " All these men, 
and all their comrades went out, inspired by two immor- 
tal ideas. First, that liberty shall be universal in America, 
and, Second, that this old flag is the flag of a nation, and 
not of a state ; that the nation is supreme over all people 
and all corporations. Call it a state ; call it a section ; 
call it a South ; call it a North ; call it anything you wish, 
and yet, armed with the nationality that God gave us, this 
is a nation against all State sovereignty and secession, 
whatever. It is the immortality of that truth that makes 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 65 

these re-unions, and that makes this one. You believed 
it on the battle-field, you believed it in the hell of Ander- 
sonville, and you believe it to-day, thank God, and you 
will believe it to the last gasp." 

On April 14, 1866, the anniversary of the death of 
Abraham Lincoln, General Garfield moved, in the House 
of Representatives immediately after the opening prayer, 
that the reading of the journal be dispensed with ; and 
that motion having been carried, he moved that the 
House adjourn, and in the course of a few remarks on 
that motion, said : " In the great drama of the Rebellion 
there were two acts. The first was the war, with its 
battles and seiges, victories and defeats, sufferings and 
tears. That act was closed one year ago to-night, and 
just as the curtain was lifting on the second and final act, 
— the restoration of peace and liberty ; just as the cur- 
tain was rising upon new characters and new events, the 
evil spirit of the rebellion, in the fury of despair, nerved 
and directed the hand of the assassin to strike down the 
chief character in both. 

" It was no one man who killed Abraham Lincoln ; it 
was the embodied spirit of treason and slavery, inspired 
with fearful and despairing hate, that struck him down in 
the moment of the nation's supremest joy." 

At the Chicago Convention, on the night of June 5th, 
1880, General Garfield, in a speech of wonderful 
eloquence and power, nominated John Sherman as a can- 
didate for the Presidential nomination. In the course of 
that speech, after stating the condition of the country at 
the time the Republican party came into power, he said : 
" The Republican party changed all this. It abolished 



66 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

the babel of confusion, and gave to the country a cur- 
rency as national as its flag, based upon the sacred faith 
of the people. It threw its protecting arm around our 
great industries, and they stood erect as with new life. 
It filled with the spirit of true nationality all the great 
functions of the Government. It confronted a rebellion 
of unexampled magnitude, with slavery behind it, and 
under God, fought the final battle of liberty, until victory 
was won. Then, after the storms of battle, were heard 
the sweet, calm words of peace, uttered by the conquer- 
ing nation, and saying to the conquered foe .hat lay 
prostrate at its feet : 'This is our only revenge, that you 
join us in lifting to the serene firmament of the Constitu- 
tion, to shine like stars forever and forever, the immortal 
principles of truth and justice, that all men — white or 
black, shall be free and stand equal before the law.' " 

In the course of the same speech he described the 
necessary qualifications of the person who should be 
chosen as candidate, and, unconsciously, in attempting 
to describe another, described himself. He said: "We 
want a man whose life and opinions embody all the 
achievements of which I have spoken. We want a man 
who, standing on a mountain height, sees all the achieve- 
ments of our past history, and carries in his heart the 
memory of all its glorious deeds, and who, looking for- 
ward, prepares to meet the labor and the dangers to 
come. We want one who will act in no spirit of unkind- 
ness toward those we lately met in battle. The Republi- 
can party offers to our brethren of the South the olive 
branch of peace, and wishes them to return to brother- 
hood on this supreme condition, — that it shall be 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD, 67 

admitted, forever and forever more, that in the war for 
the Union, we were right and they were wrong. On 
that supreme condition we meet them as brethren, and 
on no other. We ask them to share with us the blessings 
and honors of this great Republic." 

General Garfield is the possessor of two homes : a 
house in Washington, and a farm at Mentor, Ohio. His 
entire property may amount to $20,000, and consists 
entirely of that just mentioned. This he has earned by 
his own exertions. When he entered Congress he owned 
a house at Hiram, worth about $1,500 ; and by saving a 
little of his salary, and an occasional legal fee, has accu- 
mulated the remainder. Seven children have been born 
to him, of whom, five are living, two having died in 
infancy. In person, he is six feet high, broad shouldered 
and powerfully built. His head is of an immense size, 
and his forehead very high. His hair and whiskers are 
of a light brown color, and his eyes are blue. 

He dresses plainly, and cares nothing for luxurious 
living. He is exceedingly temperate in all things, save 
brain work, and is a devoted husband and father. 

As a statesman, General Garfield stands in the fore- 
most rank. His great knowledge, firm convictions, clear 
perception, uprightness of character, and unflagging 
energy and zeal, all combine to make him the foremost 
man of his day. 

In this short and imperfect sketch, we have seen how 
a man may rise superior to his circumstances, and by 
prudence, energy, honesty and intelligence, may succeed 
in overcoming all obstacles which are encountered, and 
advancing step by step on the ladder of fame, be selected 



68 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

by a great political party as its candidate for the highest 
office the Republic can bestow. 

General Garfield himself has said, that " The man who 
wants to serve his country, must put himself in the line 
of its leading thought ; and that is the restoration of 
business, trade, commerce, industry, sound political 
economy, hard money, and the honest payment of all 
obligations ; and the man who can add anything in the 
direction of accomplishing any of these purposes, is a 
public benefactor." Certainly he fulfills his own require- 
ments to the very letter. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LIFE OF GEN. CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 

The candidate of the Republican party for Vice-Presi- 
dent, is General Chester Allan Arthur, of New York. 




General Arthur was born in Fairfield, Franklin County, 
Vermont, on the 15th of October, 1830. His father, — 
Rev. Dr. William Arthur, was a Baptist clergyman, and 
a native of the north of Ireland. He achieved consider- 
able eminence as a pulpit orator, and also as an author of 
philological works. 



7o 



OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 



Young Arthur received part of his early education at 
a school at Greenwich, Washington County, New York. 
At one time he taught a district school at a place then 
known as Whipple's Corners, and at the present time as 
North Pownal, Vermont, occupying the same school-room 
in which, a year or two subsequently, General Garfield 
also taught. Arthur was, however, mainly prepared for 
college under the tuition of his father. 

He entered Union College, at Schenectady, New York, 
and was graduated therefrom in 1848, when only eighteen 
years of age. 

While in College, he was a hard student ; was very 
popular among his classmates, and was regarded by all 
who knew him, as a young man of ability and promise. 
Soon after leaving College, he commenced the study of 
law, and subsequently entered the office of Eratus D. 
Culver, who afterwards became Minister to one of the 
South American States, and later on a Judge of the City 
Court of Brooklyn. 

Mr. Culver had at one time been a Member of Con- 
gress from Pennsylvania, and had been closely identified 
with the anti-slavery struggles of his day, and General 
Arthur received his early training in politics during their 
association. As a young man, he became deeply inter- 
ested in and identified with, the Free-Soil agitation. He 
was a delegate from Brooklyn to the first Republican 
State Convention held in New York. 

After Mr. Culver became a judge, Mr. Arthur became 
associated in business with a Mr. Gardner, their partner- 
ship lasting for some ten years, and until the death of 
Mr. Gardner, when Mr. Arthur conducted the business 



LIFE OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 7 1 

alone. In 187 1 he became senior member of the firm of 
Arthur, Phelps, Knevals and Ransom. Mr. Benjamin 
K. Phelps, his partner, has been the District- Attorney of 
New York County for nearly nine years. 

A Virginian, named Jonathan Lemon, landed eight 
slaves in New York, intending to ship them from there 
to Texas. Mr. Arthur thought he would see whether or 
not the State of New York would submit to the indignity 
of being used as a transfer station for the traffickers in 
human flesh and blood, and sued out a writ of Habeas 
Corpus in their behalf. After listening to an extended 
argument from the counsel on both sides of the case, 
Judge Paine, before whom the writ was returnable, 
decided that the slaves should be released, as they were 
not within the terms of the fugitive slave law. The 
State of Virginia directed its Attorney-General to appeal 
from this decision, and the Legislature of New York 
requested the Governor to employ counsel to defend the 
case. Mr. Arthur was employed as counsel, pursuant to 
this request, and associated with himself Hon. William 
M. Evarts, now Secretary of State, and together they 
argued the case in the General Term. Opposed to 
them, was that veteran advocate and defender of slavery 
— Charles O'Connor. 

The decision of Judge Paine was sustained, and 
Lemon appealed to the Court of Appeals, where the 
judgment was also affirmed ; and ever afterwards slave- 
holders gave New York a wide berth. 

In 1856, Lizzie Jennings, a colored woman of good 
character and reputation, was rudely expelled from a 
Fourth Avenue horse-car, wholly on account of her 



72 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

color. Through General Arthur, she brought suit against 
the railroad company to recover damages. The case was 
tried before Judge Rockwell and a jury in Brooklyn, and 
the jury awarded the woman $500 as damages. The 
company appealed, but the decision was sustained in all 
the higher courts, and it was forced to pay the damages. 
This settled for all time a then much vexed question, and 
thenceforward, colored people were allowed to ride on 
all the street cars in the city. 

It required no small amount of moral courage to stand 
up in the face of the prevailing sentiment of the com- 
munity, and espouse and advocate the cause of the 
despised and down- trodden black man ; and General 
Arthur is deserving of the highest praise, for his daring 
and chivalrous services. 

General Arthur continued to actively practice his pro- 
fession, until in January, 1861, when Governor Morgan 
appointed him Inspector and Quartermaster-General. 
In this position he rendered highly efficient services in 
the work of preparing and forwarding troops to the seat 
of war. 

In the fall of 187 1, General Arthur was appointed by 
President Grant, Collector of the Port of New York, to 
succeed Thomas Murphy. Upon the expiration of his 
term of four years, his services had proved so acceptable 
that he was reappointed, and the nomination was unani- 
mously confirmed by the Senate, without being referred 
to a committee, a compliment usually paid only to ex- 
Senators. In July, 1878, he was succeeded by Collector 
Merritt. 

General Arthur has always taken a great interest in 



LIEF OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 73 

politics, and since its formation, has been one of the 
leaders of the Republican party in New York. During 
the Gubernatorial campaign in that State in 1879, he 
served as Chairman of the State Committee, and to his 
skillful and judicious management, was, in a large meas- 
ure, due the success of the party. 

In personal appearance, General Arthur is a portly 
gentleman, with a pleasant face, bright eyes, and heavy 
hair and whiskers, now quite gray. Socially, he is a 
genial companion and a great favorite. He is a public 
spirited but unobtrusive citizen, and a pleasant and ready 
speaker. He has been very successful as a lawyer, and 
has a large and extensive practice. He has two children 
— a son of about fourteen, and a daughter of eight years 
of age. Early in the present year, he had the misfortune 
to lose his wife, to whom he was devotedly attached. 
Her death was very sudden and unexpected. She was 
the daughter of Capt. Herndon, the explorer of the 
Amazon river, who was lost while in command of the 
steamship " Central America," while on the trip between 
Havana and New York. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE NATIONAL GREENBACK LABOR CONVENTION. 

HELD AT CHICAGO, JUNE 9TH, 1880. 

On Wednesday, the 9th day of June, 1880, the Na- 
tional Greenback Labor Convention met in the Industrial 
Exposition Building, at Chicago, and in the same hall 
where the Republican Convention had just previously 
been held, and at 12:30 p. m. the Hon. F. P. Dewees, 
Chairman of the National Executive Committee, called 
the Convention to order. 

In a brief and forcible manner he spoke of the Con- 
vention that had adjourned, referring to the fact that it 
was a struggle of men against each other, who had no 
principle to contend for, and were therefore left to divide 
into factions and fight for spoils. 

He congratulated the delegates that this Convention 
promised well for a union of all elements opposed to the 
old parties, and grandly for the labor and industrial 
interests of the country. He then called upon Rev. Mr. 
Ingalls, of Iowa, to open the proceedings with prayer. 

The large hall at this time presented quite an animated 
and business like appearance. There were about one 
thousand delegates and alternates in attendance, and 
every State but Oregon was represented in the Conven- 
tion. The delegates were from all ranks of industry, 



THE NATIONAL GREENBACK CONVENTION. 75 

laboring men, mechanics, farmers, lawyers, clergymen, 
physicians, men of intelligence and brains. 

After the reading of the call for the Convention, the 
Hon. Gilbert De La Matyr, of Indiana, was unanimously 
chosen temporary chairman, and in a brief but forcible 
speech he laid down the principles which had brought 
the party into life and developed it as a great political 
organization, which had representatives on the floor of 
the Convention at its opening, from nearly every State 
and Territory in the Union. 

Charles Litchman, of Massachusetts, and Perry P. 
Maxsom, of Kansas, were then chosen Secretaries. After 
the call of the roll of States and their appointment of 
committees, Mrs. Gage, President of the National 
Woman's Suffrage Association, addressed the Conven- 
tion, urging that a plank in their behalf be inserted in the 
platform. She was followed by Susan B. Anthony and 
Miss Lucinda B. Chandler, of Pennsylvania. 

At the evening session the hall was crowded to over- 
flowing, there being at least 10,000 persons present. In 
the absence of regular business, and while waiting for 
reports of the committees, calls were made for prominent 
men of the party to address the Convention. 

Among others, Mr. Wallace, of Canada, Member of 
Parliament, was introduced, and made a speech that 
called forth enthusiastic applause. The gentleman spoke 
for half an hour, and held the vast audience spell-bound 
by the force and clearness of his remarks. At the con- 
clusion the vast audience rose to their feet and gave 
three rousing cheers for the Canadian Greenbacker. 

He was followed by a Mr. Wright, Secretary of the 



y6 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Canadian Currency Reform League, who spoke for an 
hour, and logic, anecdote and illustration were made to 
tell for the great cause he advocated. 

Cries of " Kearney," " Kearney," were then heard 
from all parts of the house. The great agitator of the 
sand lots refused for some time to leave his seat in the 
California delegation, but at last ascended the platform. 
His speech was wholly free from objectionable or 
inflammatory language, and was listened to with interest. 

He thanked God that even the Republican Convention 
had the grace to reject imperialism, in the candidacy of 
Grant, and prophesied that General Garfield, in conse- 
quence of the weakness of the Republican platform on 
the subject, and his record on the Chinese immigration 
bill, would not receive one-third of the vote of Cali- 
fornia. He predicted that the Greenback and Working- 
ingmen's party would carry California, Nevada and 

Oregon. 

He went into a description of the Chinese coolie 
system, as it exists in California, and showed conclu- 
sively that it was the African slave trade limited to a 
term of years. " We will not harm a hair of any China- 
man in California," said Kearney, "but we intend to stop 
this slave traffic." He then described how contracts are 
made for the poor serfs of China, with the ruling classes 
there who own them, and the Six Chinese Companies 
who buy them by the thousand for a term of years, bind 
themselves to return their slaves dead or alive at the end 
of that time. 

On Thursday, the ioth of June, the Convention was 
called to order at 10 o'clock a. m., when the Committee 



THE NATIONAL GREENBACK CONVENTION. 77 

on Credentials reported. They also submitted some 
resolutions recommending that those who were not 
elected under the call of the National Greenback-Labor 
Committee be furnished seats in the Convention with the 
respective delegations to which they may belong, and 
that they have a voice in casting the vote of the State, 
but the vote of no State be thereby increased. They 
also recommended that the accredited delegates present 
from each State or Territory be authorized to cast the 
full vote to which such State and Territory is entitled 
under the call of the Convention. 

The minority of the committee presented an adverse 
report, the object being to keep out the Farwell Hall 
delegates. But to understand this let us go back a little. 

At the same time that these proceedings were going on 
in the regular Convention, another Convention, composed 
of representatives from the Greenback Labor Clubs of 
the country, and known as the Pomeroy wing of the 
party, had assembled in Farwell Hall, not far distant, to 
the number of 187. They had previously, at a Conven- 
tion held in St. Louis, nominated for President, S. D. 
Dillaye, of New Jersey, and B. J. Chambers, of Texas, 
for Vice-President, and adjourned to meet in Chicago, 
June 9th, with a view to forming a union of the two 
conflicting parties. 

The spirit which prevailed was excellent and friendly, 
and union and fraternity were the earnest wish of both. 

During the discussion of the resolutions, and of the 
majority and minority reports above mentioned, Chair- 
man De LaMatyr asked the privilege of saying a few 
words. "They were organizing," he said, "the grandest 



78 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

movement of ages. Everywhere the toiling masses felt 
oppression, and were organized under various forms. 
While divided, they would remain powerless. They must 
have harmony and unity to over-throw the well-disci- 
plined forces of their enemies. It was useless to think 
they could achieve any great result if they were split into 
several factions. It was a solemn hour. They must lay 
aside personal preferences, and be prepared to offer up 
their prejudices on the altar of this sublime movement. 
Indiscretion would enfeeble them, and invite certain 
defeat. If they could unite the different elements, for 
the purpose of lifting from labor the burden that bound 
it to the earth, they would accomplish a grand result." 

He recommended that each State delegation be left to 
settle the matter of voting in their own ranks. He asked 
them to rise to the sublimity of the movement without an 
embittering word. He besought them not to utter an 
unkind word. The eyes of millions were upon them 
gauging their work. He would lay his life on that altar. 
He knew the better sentiments of their hearts would pre- 
vail, and they would go from the Convention organized 
for victory. The people were aroused, and when they 
were, their voice was the voice of God. 

This brief address was delivered feelingly and forcibly 
and it had a most soothing, pacifying and satisfactory 
effect. 

The minority report was withdrawn, and the resolu- 
tions unanimously adopted. 

The report of the Committee on Permanent Organiza- 
tion was then presented and adopted, as follows : Presi- 
dent, Capt. Richard F. Trevellick, of Michigan ; Secre- 



THE NATIONAL GREENBACK CONVENTION. 79 

tary, Charles H. Litchman, of Massachusetts, with 
several assistant secretaries. 

A committee was appointed to conduct Mr. Trevellick 
to the Chair as its Permanent President, and after the 
applause had subsided, he made a brief speech, thanking 
the Convention for the honor tendered him to preside 
over such a large, intelligent, but noisy body, and accept- 
ing the gavel as an emblem for authority, asked the 
pleasure of the Convention. 

A motion was made that a committee be appointed by 
the Chair to wait on the Farwell Hall delegates and the 
Socialistic party, and inform them of the action of the 
Convention, invite their attendance, and to escort them to 
seats on the floor of the Convention. 

The committee appointed, consisted of W. P. Parks, of 
Arkansas, Hon. Gilbert De LaMatyr, of Indiana, Hon. 
Stephen D. Dillaye, of New Jersey, Z. M. Brunn, of 
Pennsylvania, and G. F. Bynall, of Virginia. 

The committee proceeded at once with a band of music 
to Farwell Hall, and upon their re-appearance in the Con- 
vention with the Farwell Hall delegates, the whole vast 
assemblage rose, the wildest enthusiasm prevailed, and 
the greatest joy was manifested over the reunion of those 
who were working for the same grand results, but had 
temporarily labored apart. 

Speeches of welcome and congratulation were made, 
and after the speeches, the delegates broke away from 
all restraint. Flags and State banners were waved, cheer 
after cheer rent the air, and at last a grand burst 
of enthusiasm greeted one of the Southern delegates, 
who lifted the banner of his State higher than all the 
4* 



80 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

rest. Order was at last restored, and the Convention 
again commenced work. 

The Committee on Platform was next called for, and 
its report was presented through its chairman, Congress- 
man Gillette. The report on motion of Congressman 
Murch, of Maine, was unanimously adopted. It is as 
follows : 

THE PLATFORM. 

Civil government should guarantee the divine right of 
every laborer to the results of his toil, thus enabling the 
producers of wealth to provide themselves with the 
means for physical comfort, and the facilities for mental, 
social and moral culture ; and we condemn as unworthy 
of our civilization the barbarism which imposes upon the 
wealth producers a state of perpetual drudgery as the 
price of bare animal existence. 

Notwithstanding the enormous increase of productive 
power, the universal introduction of labor-saving ma- 
chinery, and the discovery of new agents for the increase 
of wealth, the task of the laborer is scarcely lightened, 
the hours of toil are but little shortened, and few pro- 
ducers are lifted from poverty into comfort and pecuni- 
ary independence. 

The associated monopolies, the international syndicates 
and other income classes demand dear money and cheap 
labor, a " strong government " and hence a weak people. 

Corporate control of the volume of money has been 
the means of dividing society into two classes ; of the 
unjust distribution of the products of labor, and build- 
ing up monopolies of associated capital, endowed with 
power to confiscate private property. It has kept money 
scarce, and scarcity of money enforces debt trade, and 
public and corporate loans — debt engenders usury, and 
usury ends in the bankruptcy of the borrower. 



THE GREENBACK PLATFORM. 8l 

Other results are deranged markets, uncertainty in 
manufacturing enterprise and agriculture, precarious and 
intermittent employment for the laborer, industrial war, 
increasing pauperism and crime, the consequent intimi- 
dation and disfranchisement of the producer, and a 
rapid declination into corporate feudalism. 

Therefore we declare : 

i. That the right to make and issue money is a sover- 
eign power to be maintained by the people for the com- 
mon benefit. The delegation of this right to corporations 
is a surrender of the central attribute of sovereignty 
void of constitutional sanction, conferring upon a sub- 
ordinate, irresponsible power, absolute dominion over 
industry and commerce. All money, whether metallic or 
paper, should be issued and its volume controlled by the 
government, and not by or through banking corporations, 
and when so issued should be full legal tender for all 
debts, public and private. 

2. That the bonds of the United States should not be 
refunded, but paid as rapidly as is practicable, and 
according to contract. To enable the government to 
meet these obligations, legal tender currency should be 
substituted for the notes of the national banks, the 
national banking system abolished, and the unlimited 
coinage of silver as well as gold established by law. 

3. That labor should be so protected by national and 
State authority, as to equalize its burdens, and insure a 
just distribution of its results ; the eight-hour law of 
Congress should be enforced ; the sanitary condition of 
industrial establishments placed under rigid control ; the 
competition of contract convict labor abolished ; a 
bureau of labor statistics established ; factories, mines 
and workshops inspected ; the employment of children 
under 14 years of age forbidden, and wages paid in cash. 

4. Slavery being simply cheap labor, and cheap labor 
being simply slavery, the importation of Chinese serfs 
necessarily tends to brutalize and degrade American 



82 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

labor ; therefore, immediate steps should be taken to 
abrogate the Burlingame treaty. 

5. Railroad land grants, forfeited by reason of non- 
fulfillment of contract, should be immediately reclaimed 
by the government ; and henceforth the public domain 
reserved exclusively as homes for actual settlers. 

6. It is the duty of Congress to regulate inter-State 
commerce, all lines of communication and transportation 
should be brought under such legislative control as shall 
secure moderate, fair and uniform rates for passenger 
and freight traffic. 

7. We denounce, as destructive to prosperity, and dan- 
gerous to liberty, the action of the old parties in fostering 
and sustaining gigantic land, raiiroad and money corpo- 
rations and monopolies, invested with and exercising 
powers belonging to the government, and yet not respon- 
sible to it for the manner of their exercise. 

8. That the Constitution, in giving Congress the power 
to borrow money, to declare war, to raise and support 
armies, to provide and maintain a navy, never intended 
that the men who loaned their money for an interest con- 
sideration should be preferred to the soldier and sailor, 
who perilled their lives and shed their blood on land and 
sea in defense of their country ; and we condemn the 
cruel class legislation of the Republican party which, 
while professing great gratitude to the soldier, has most 
unjustly discriminated against him and in favor of the 
bondholder. 

9. All property should bear its just proportion of tax- 
ation, and we demand a graduated income tax. 

10. We denounce as most dangerous, the efforts every- 
where manifest to restrict the right of suffrage. 

11. We are opposed to an increase of the standing 
army in time of peace, and the insidious scheme to 
establish an enormous military power under the guise of 
militia laws. 

12. We demand absolute democratic rules for the gov- 



NOMINATING GREENBACK CANDIDATES. 83 

ernment of Congress, placing all representatives of the 
people upon an equal footing, and taking away from 
committees a veto power greater than that of the 
President. 

13. We demand a government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people, instead of a government of 
the bondholder, by the bondholder, and for the bond- 
holder ; and we denounce every attempt to stir up 
sectional strife as an effort to conceal monstrous crimes 
against the people. 

14. In the furtherance of these ends, we ask the co- 
operation of all fair-minded people. We have no quarrel 
with individuals, wage no war upon classes, but only 
against vicious institutions. We are not content to 
endure further discipline from our present actual rulers, 
who, having dominion over money, over transportation, 
over land and labor, and largely over the press and the 
machinery of government, wield unwarrantable power 
over our institutions and over life and property. 

The great majority of those comprising the Convention 
were men unused to the tricks and subterfuges of the 
politician ; men who had grown sick of the machine pol- 
itics of the day, and were resolved to break their old 
allegiance. They came together to found a new party, 
to raise a new standard, to formulate a new Declaration 
of Independence from old party trammels. 

The material of the Convention was of such as heroes 
are made. There were young men, also men with gray 
heads and young hearts, whose voices have been and will 
still continue to be heard in the defence of vital truths. 

Alexander Campbell, of Illinois, whose life-long battle 
against injustice and oppression has given courage to so 
many younger in the fight, was there to inspire them 



84 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

with his presence and aid them with his smile of ap- 
proval and words of cheer and counsel. There was E. 
P. Allis, of Wisconsin, one of nature's noblemen, with a 
solid delegation of as brave and true men as ever honored 
a reform movement, with but one ambition — the mainten- 
ance of principles. 

New Jersey sent Stephen D. Dillaye and John G. 
Drew, whose able articles on the essential principles of 
the reform movement the "Irish World " has made house- 
hold words. She also sent J. A. Beecher, whose bold, 
sharp and ringing articles in " The Press," denouncing 
the money power and gigantic corporations, have opened 
the eyes of many to discern the truth, and to whom we 
are indebted more than to any other for a full and correct 
report of the proceedings of this Convention. 

There was also John A. Thompson, of West Virginia, 
Alfred Taylor of Kansas, E. H. Benton, of Nebraska, S. 
F. Norton, of Illinois, J. M. Devine, of Massachusetts, 
Stephen Maybell, of California, Stanley H. Bell, of Ten- 
nessee, Major Harman, of Mississippi, and a host of 
others, including our representatives in Congress and 
other progressive men too numerous to mention. 

It was 12 o'clock, at midnight, Thursday, when a mo- 
tion was made and carried that the Convention proceed to 
nominate a candidate for President of the United States. 
Motions had been made to adjourn, but were voted down, 
as a majority of the delegates seemed determined to get 
through their work before adjournment. 

On the roll call of States, C. P. Judd, of Colorado, 
nominated Gen. J. B. Weaver, of Iowa ; S. F. Norton, of 
Illinois, nominated Alexander Campbell, of Illinois ; 



NOMINATING GREENBACK CANDIDATES. 85 

James Buchanan, of Indiana, nominated Benj. F. Butler, 
of Massachusetts ; Mr. Fogg, of Maine, nominated Solon 
Chase ; P. H. Talbott, of Missouri, nominated Stephen 
D. Dillaye, of New Jersey ; Edward P. Allis, of Wiscon- 
sin, was nominated by the delegation of that State ; 
Hendrick P. Wright, of Pennsylvania, was also put in 
nomination, which was ably seconded by Mr. Dillaye ; 
the Hon. Mr. Murch, of Maine, was also nominated, but 
promptly declined. 

Able speeches were made in behalf of all the nominees 
on the presentation of the names and in seconding the 
same, but by reason of the lateness of the hour they 
were necessarily brief and to the point. 

At 3.25 A. M. it was moved and carried that the Con- 
vention proceed to ballot for the Presidental candidate. 
An informal ballot was first taken, the result of which 
was announced at 4.10 o'clock A. M., just as daylight 
was breaking. It stood: Weaver 224I ; Wright 126^; 
Dillaye 119 ; Butler 95 ; Chase 89 ; Allis 41 ; and Camp- 
bell 21. 

The first formal ballot then commenced, but before its 
announcement it was evident that Weaver had a clear 
majority, and all the delegates hastened to change their 
votes to that candidate. Motions sprang up from all 
parts of the house to make his nomination unanimous, 
and, just as the sun shone through the eastern windows, 
the result of the ballot was announced as 718 for James 
B. Weaver. His nomination was made unanimous. 

Through the east windows of the hall the first rays of 
the morning sun were shining under the arched canopy. 
The day had come. 



86 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Alfred Taylor, of Kansas, rising and pointing toward 
the streaming sunlight, said: "My heart throbs with 
gratitude when I see the darkness of night give way to 
the light of the sun, symbolical of the mission of our 
party." The Convention rose to their feet, and with 
cheers upon cheers hailed the bright omen. 

A committee of five were appointed by the chair to 
proceed to the Palmer House to notify General Weaver 
of his nomination, and to conduct him to the hall. This 
was soon effected, and when the committee appeared on 
the platform conducting the General to the Chairman's 
desk, the scene can be imagined better than described. 

The delegates rose as one man to greet their chosen 
head, and manifested, in the most unmistakable terms, 
that they then and there, swore fealty and allegiance to 
the dauntless young leader. The man who nobly fought 
the Congressional syndicate of the money power and 
kept them at bay, quivered with suppressed emotion as 
he was almost carried to the front of the platform. 

Dead silence followed as suddenly as the storm of 
enthusiasm had arisen. In the hushed stillness General 
Weaver said : 

" Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the convention : I 
highly appreciate the great honor you have conferred 
upon me, and I appear before you in greater trepidation 
than ever before experienced in my life, for the reason 
that, without any desire on my part, you have seen fit to 
place me at the head of your ticket. In this informal 
manner I say, that relying on a Divine Providence and 
the patriotism of the American people, I accept the trust 
you have confided in me. 

In my judgment we have reached a juncture in the 



NOMINATING GREENBACK. CANDIDATES. %f 

history of our country, which, in all time to come will be 
regarded as an historic epoch : an epoch when the peo- 
ple must decide whether we shall degenerate like the 
European aristocracies, and the many be ruled, so that 
the few may hold the emoluments of office and accumu- 
late the wealth of the country. 

I accept your trust thus informally, but in the near 
future will give you my acceptance and my views at 
length ; and I now thank you most heartily for the honor 
you have shown me." 

Congressman Gillette offered the following resolution 
which was adopted. " Resolved, that it is the sentiment 
of this convention that our gallant candidates for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President shall advocate our principles on 
the stump everywhere." 

Nominations of candidates for Vice-President were 
then made. Gen. Horace P. Sergeant of Massachusetts 
presented the name of Gen. A. M. West of Mississippi. 
Col. B. J. Chambers of Texas, the nominee of the St. 
Louis Greenback convention was also put in nomination. 

On the first ballot Chambers received 403 and West, 
311. Gen. West at once arose and moved that the 
nomination of Col. Chambers be made unanimous. He 
spoke highly of Col. Chambers, and in conclusion declared 
that nothing now remained for the delegates to do but to 
go to their homes and do their duty as patriots and 
Greenbackers, and victory would perch on their banners 
in November. The nomination of Col. Chambers was 
then made unanimous. 

At 6.10 A. M. the Convention adjourned, sine die, and 
the delegates retired from the Hall with cheers for the 
whole ticket. 



88 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

Bloomfield, Iowa, June 23, 1880. 
Hons. S. F. Norton, E. P. Allis, Solon Chase, S. D. 
Dillaye, E. H. Gillette. 

Gentlemen — It is my pleasure to acknowledge the 
receipt of your letter of June 23d, 1880, formally notify- 
ing me of my nomination for the office of President of 
the United States, by the united Greenback Labor party, 
whose representatives convened at Chicago, June 9, 1880. 

I am profoundly grateful for the honor conferred. 
Fully realizing the high responsibility to which I have 
been called, and conscious that the position was unsought 
by me, I accept the nomination as a solemn duty. The 
Convention is to be congratulated upon the great work 
accomplished, in the unification of the various Greenback 
and Labor elements, into one compact organization. 
This was of first importance, and thoroughly prepares 
our forces to strike a decisive blow for industrial emanci- 
pation during the impending struggle. 

Our party has this great significance : it is a great 
labor movement, composed of earnest people, who earn 
their bread by honest toil, whether of hand, head or 
heart ; and as the world depends for the comfort of life 
upon the various departments of human toil, so will 
every part of society feel the vivifying influence of the 
grand achievements of our organization that lie just in 
the future ; for when labor is prosperous, every other 
element of society tells the impulse of vigorous life. 

The three great political parties have selected their 
candidates and made formal declarations of their princi- 
ples. It is now the high duty of every citizen of the 
United States to judge between them ; and after care- 
ful inquiry into the aims and purposes of each, to deter- 
mine the organization, with which duty calls him to act. 

The admirable platform adopted by the Convention, 
meets my cordial approval. It is comprehensive, reason- 



JAMES B. WEAVER'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 89 

able and progressive — containing those principles of 
economic reform essential to the preservation of the 
liberty and prosperity of the whole people. 

It being the duty of man to earn his bread in the 
sweat of his face, it becomes the first duty of civil gov- 
ernment to foster industry. All laws, therefore, which 
place a premium upon idleness, whether of men or 
money, unjustly discriminate in favor of capital, or 
withhold from honest men the full and just reward for 
their labor, are simply monstrous. Capital should be the 
servant of labor rather than its master. 

This great truth can never be realized until there is 
an adequate circulating medium. Inasmuch as this cir- 
culating medium is for the benefit of all, its issue and 
volume should be sacredly kept under the control of the 
people, without the intervention of banking corporations. 
All money, whether gold, silver or paper, should be 
issued by the supreme authority of the nation, and be 
made a full legal tender in payment of all debts — public 
and private. 

The system which now prevails, gives into the hands 
of banking corporations absolute control over the volume 
of the currency, and through this they have the power 
to fix the price of the labor and property of fifty millions 
of people. By provision of law, the method is clearly 
defined whereby they may, without limit, inflate or con- 
tract the currency at will. Cognate to this, and a part 
of the same scheme, stands the system of funding the 
public debt. Like national banking, this was borrowed 
from the English monarchy. By this system an enor- 
mous non-taxable, interest-bearing debt is to be perpetu- 
ated. The bonds support the banks, and the banks 
foster the public debt. If you pay off the bonds, the 
banks must cease to exist. Hence, if the national banks 
are to continue, we must have a perpetual bonded debt. 
Both patriotism and sound statesmanship loudly call for 
the abolition of banks of issue, and the substitution of 



90 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

legal tender Treasury notes for their circulation. Pay 
the bonds according to contract, and as rapidly as 
possible. 

Seven hundred millions of the public debt become 
redeemable, at the option of the Government, during 
this and the ensuing year. Two funding bills are now 
pending before Congress — one introduced by the Demo- 
cratic, and the other by the Republican leader of the 
House, whereby it is proposed to deprive the people, for 
twenty and thirty years, of the lawful right to pay said 
bonds. This is a crime against the laborer and the tax- 
payer, and should cause wide-spread alarm among all 
classes. 

The annual surplus revenues, and the idle coin now in 
the Treasury, and that which must continue to accumu- 
late, if the silver law approved Feb. 28, 1878, shall be 
honestly enforced, are ample to pay every dollar of the 
seven hundred millions, both principal and interest, 
within the next six years. There is not the slightest 
excuse for funding these bonds, except to perpetuate the 
debt as the basis of an iniquitous banking monopoly. 
It must be apparent to all that the great moneyed insti- 
tutions and other corporations now have control of 
nearly every department of our Government, and are 
fast swallowing up the profits of labor, and reducing the 
people to a condition of vassalage and dependence. 
These monopolies, of whatever class, headed by the 
associated banks, are interlocked in purpose, and always 
act in closest sympathy. 

There are three industrial classes in America : First, 
the producers ; second, those who manufacture our raw 
materials and prepare them for use ; third, the distribu- 
ters of these products. Each should be protected in the 
legitimate fruits and profits of their labor, but should 
not be permitted to extort from and enslave the others. 

The great problem of our civilization is how to bring 
the producer and consumer together. This can only be 



JAMES B. WEAVER'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 9 1 

done by providing an adequate circulating medium, and 
by rigid regulation of inter-State commerce and trans- 
portation. This was wisely foreseen by the framers of 
the Constitution, and accordingly, by the eighth section 
of Article i, Congress is clothed with power "to regulate 
commerce with foreign nations and among the States." 
This power imposes a corresponding duty upon Congress 
to see that it is enforced. 

The two great agents of commerce are money and 
transportation. It is undeniable that both of these agents 
are under absolute control of monopolies. By controling 
the volume of money, the banks fix the price of all labor 
and property ; and the railroads, by combination, render 
competition impossible, and control absolutely the price 
of transportation. 

This places the people between the upper and nether 
millstones, and grinds them to poverty and ruin. It 
results in the wholesale robbery of both producer and 
consumer. Who is able to controvert this stupendous 
fact ? Farmers, planters and laboring men of the United 
States, I beseech you to open your eyes at once to this 
alarming condition of things. 

I am especially thankful that the platform of the party 
which placed me in nomination is open, bold and unmis- 
takable on these great questions. 

The Republican and Democratic platforms are either 
silent with regard to these vital issues, or they have pro- 
nounced in favor of the monopolies and against the peo- 
ple. With fifty million of people looking them in the 
face and pleading for relief, they utter not one word of 
promise or hope. Their leaders and platform makers 
are in the toils of the syndicate, gigantic bank corpora- 
tions and railroad monopolies, and have neither the dis- 
position nor the courage to strike one generous blow for 
industrial emancipation. 

An area of our public domain, larger than the territory 
occupied by the great German empire, has been wantonly 



92 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

donated to wealthy corporations ; while a bill introduced 
by Hon. Hendrick B. Wright, of Pennsylvania, to enable 
our poor people to reach and occupy the few acres re- 
maining, has been scouted, ridiculed and defeated in 
Congress. In consequence of this stupendous system of 
land grabbing, millions of the young men of America, 
and millions more of industrious people from abroad, 
seeking homes in the new world, are left homeless and 
destitute. The public domain must be sacredly reserved 
to actual settlers, and where corporations have not com- 
plied strictly with the terms of their grants, the lands 
should be at once reclaimed. 

The immigration of persons from foreign countries, 
seeking homes and desiring to become citizens of the 
United States, should be encouraged, but the importation 
of Chinese servile laborers should be prohibited by 
stringent laws. 

While the bondholder has been paid gold in return for 
his depreciated currency, the soldiers and sailors who 
saved our Union, our homes, our money and our altars, 
and whose blood consecrated every battlefield from Bel- 
mont and Donelson, to Gettysburg and Appomatox, are 
denied the pittance justly due them under their contract 
with the Government, as though soldiers and sailors 
could live on gratitude alone, 

By the answer of Secretary Sherman of June 10, 1880, 
to the Senate resolution of inquiry, it appears that the 
Government paid the soldiers in greenbacks during the 
war of the rebellion $1,249,519,135.16. 

The total interest paid in gold on the public debt from 
July 1, 1861, to June 30, 1879, is $1,809,301,485.19, and 
still we owe the principal of the debt. The soldier has 
been taxed to pay this interest, while the bondholder, as 
usual, has gone free. 

During the present Congress, it has been impossible to 
induce the committees to report a single bill to remedy 
existing evils. The important committees of the House 



JAMES B. WEAVER S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 93 

are so constituted, and the despotic rules of that body so 
interpreted as to render relief impossible. Under these 
rules the Speaker is as much the dictator of the country 
as though he were an emperor, and ruling in the most 
despotic government on the globe. 

One of the grand missions of our party is to banish 
forever from American politics that deplorable spirit of 
sectional hatred, which, for base purposes, has been 
fostered by the leaders of the old parties. This has 
greatly deceived and embittered the public mind, both 
North and South. 

Our civilization demands a new party, dedicated to the 
pursuits of peace, and which will not allow the war issues 
ever to be reopened, and will render the military strictly 
subordinate to the civil power. The war is over, and 
the sweet voice of peace, long neglected, calls us to wor- 
ship at her altars ; let us crown her temples with willing 
votaries. Let us have a free ballot, a fair count, and 
equal rights for all classes — for the laboring man in 
Northern manufactories, mines and workshops, and for 
the struggling poor, both white and black, in the cotton 
fields of the South. 

I most earnestly and solemnly invoke united action of 
all industrial classes, irrespective of party, that we may 
make a manly struggle for the independence of labor, 
and to re-establish in the administration of public affairs, 
the old time Democracy of Jefferson and Jackson, and 
the pure Republicanism of Abraham Lincoln and Thad- 
deus Stevens. 

In consequence of the great avenues to public opinion, 
the press, the bar, and the pulpit, being mainly under the 
control of the enemies of our movement, your convention 
thought proper to request its candidates to visit the 
various sections of the Union and talk to the people. It 
is my intention to comply with this request to the extent 
of my ability. 

And now, eschewing all violence and tumult as un- 



94 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

worthy of the cause we represent, and relying upon 
Divine Providence and the justice of our cause, let us go 
forth in the great struggle for human rights. 
With high regard, I am your obedient servant, 

J. B. Weaver. 




GEN. JAMES B. WEAVER. 



CHAPTER VI. 
LIFE AND SERVICES OF GEN. JAMES B. WEAVER. 

BY HON. STEPHEN D. DILLAYE. 

James Baird Weaver, the nominee of the National 
Greenback Labor Party for President of the United 
States, English by origin, and American by birth, was 
born at Dayton, Ohio, June 12, 1833. His ancestors 
emigrated from England and settled in New York early 
in the century. The grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, Henry Weaver, moved to Ohio while it was yet 
almost an unbroken wilderness. His probity, intelligence 
and activity as a citizen, secured him the appointment, 
then a distinguished honor, as one of the Judges of the 
State Courts, an office he filled with credit to himself and 
to his constituents. 

Active in all the duties of a pioneer, he was placed in 
command of a fort on the Ohio river, located where the 
city of Cincinnati now stands, which post he occupied 
during the savage war of the Indians with conspicuous 
bravery. 

Abram Weaver, the son of Henry, and father of James B., 
was a native of Ohio. His mother, Susan Imlay, was a na> 
tive of New Jersey, and owed her origin to one of the old- 
est of its Revolutionary families. In 1835, Abram Weaver 
moved to Cass County, Michigan. His occupation was 
that of a farmer, a tiller of the soil. He remained in 
5 



g6 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Michigan until 1842, when he started West in pursuit of 
a new home. He crossed the Mississippi, and on the 1st 
of May, 1843, settled in Davis County, Iowa, and 
resumed his occupation as a farmer. Active, intelligent 
and well educated for practical life, he was made Clerk 
of the Courts of Davis County, a position he filled for 
ten years. He continued his farm life until 1848, when 
he removed with his family to the village of Bloomfield, 
where James attended district school for two years, and 
carried the mail, on horseback, from that place to Fair- 
field, his father being the Government contractor for 
that route. Ambitious to secure the means of future 
support while yet a boy, and determined to make his way 
in the world, knowing that he had to depend upon him- 
self, in 1850, he commenced the study of law in the office 
of Hon. Samuel G. McAchran, of Bloomfield. He had 
no means of support but what he earned by his own 
efforts, for he had determined from the first that he 
would support himself without trenching upon the means, 
or in anywise burthening his father. To this end, he 
secured employment as a clerk in the store of C. W. 
Phelps, but continued his legal studies, devoting morn- 
ings and evenings, late into the night, to his books. 

In 1853, he was induced to drive an ox team across the 
plains to California. It was an undertaking at which an 
older and stouter heart might well hesitate, but he was 
poor, needed the reward the toil would secure, and per- 
formed the long, slow, and dangerous pilgrimage as if he 
was a veteran in the service. The journey was full of 
hardships, but it was invigorating to the body, as it was 
inspiring to the energies and ambition of the dauntless 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 97 

boy who had undertaken it. Having safely reached his 
destination and delivered up his charge, he returned by 
the water routes to Bloomfield. From thence he went 
to Bonaparte, a village near by, to enter the store of 
Edwin Manning, where he spent the winter of 1854, per- 
forming his duty to his employer with such fidelity as to 
receive his unqualified commendation and the offer of 
increased wages, and a partnership if he would remain, 
but young Weaver felt that he owed a higher duty to 
himself, and to the profession to whose labors and honors 
he aspired. 

In the fall of 1854, he secured a loan, at 33^ per cent, 
annual interest, of sufficient means to enable him to pur- 
sue a Course at the Cincinnati Law School, and he 
entered upon it with a devotion to his studies, and an 
energy in the daily acquisition of legal knowledge which 
left no room to question his future success. He remained 
at the law school until he had finished the course of 
studies, prescribed for elemental preparation, and received 
the honorary degree of LL.B. This gave him admission 
to practice, and he proceeded at once to open an office 
at Bloomfield. 

For six years he labored with unremitting zeal in the 
grand profession to which he had devoted his life. They 
were years of struggle, — full of labor, with a daily in- 
creasing business and support. 

On the 13th of July, 1858, he was married at Keasaqua, 
Iowa, to Clara Vinson, a native of St. Marys, Ohio. He 
commenced keeping house at once, and made his home 
the palace of his soul. Educated in the West, to the 
full limit of its nowise inferior advantages, blessed with 



98 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

health, full of the attractive beauty of youth, industrious 
and ambitious, Mrs. Weaver became the cheerful, affec- 
tionate and devoted helpmate of her husband. Practis- 
ing the most rigid economy, making her home the 
sympathetic resting-place for companionship, she entered 
with enthusiasm into all the labors and trials of her 
husband's active life. When the voice of duty called 
him to the battle-field of the Rebellion, she yielded to 
the demand of her country with womanly heroism, and 
yet with that anxiety and grief no pen can describe. 
During his absence on the field, she took charge of his 
affairs, and watched his progress — his courageous devo- 
tion to his duties and his promotion, as a young wife and 
mother of a first-born child yet clinging to her breast 
only could. This daughter is now twenty-one years of 
age, and married to E. A. Robinson, Esq., a young 
lawyer at Ottumna, Iowa. They have also been blessed 
with two sons— James B., Jr., and Abram C, and four 
younger daughters. 

The home life of General Weaver is all an accom- 
plished and devoted wife — whose whole existence is 
dedicated to his comfort, the care of his family, and to 
his ambition, surrounded by children educated to the. 
affectionate devotion of every-day companionship — can 
make it. General Weaver and his wife are active mem- 
bers of the Methodist church. He has been for many 
years the efficient Superintendent of the Sunday-school 
connected with his church. Thoroughly temperate, 
zealous in good works, the family and family life of 
General Weaver is that of a citizen seeking, by his 
benevolence and Christian charities, to deserve the 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 99 

respect, and merit the confidence of his neighbors and 
friends. 

In personal appearance, General Weaver is command- 
ing, graceful and easy. Tall, well-built, compact and 
energetic with the glow of health, he is just in the 
ripening strength of manhood. His features are regular 
in the symmetry of form, and display the natural vigor 
of perfect health. His face is full of expression. 
Always lighted up with the sunshine of good nature, it 
yet carries with its smile the will which shows the inflex- 
ible character of the man. Easy of access, affable, 
courteous and quick to comprehend, he is socially a 
favorite in society. In debate, he is electric in manner, 
and often powerfully eloquent in expression. Careful in 
his positions, determined to be just, and quailing before 
no opposition, he speaks with the daring boldness of a 
man who knows his rights and is determined to maintain 
them. Possessing many of the characteristics of Doug- 
lass, in the fervid fluency of Western force and logical 
compactness, and in the determined zeal of his advocacy, 
he, like that lamented statesman, leaves no room for 
friend or foe to doubt his positions, or question the 
integrity of his purpose. 

General Weaver's normal life, as a citizen and as a 
man, may be said to have commenced on his return from 
the battle-field of the Rebellion, and yet, a clear insight 
into his character and his career, will be but promoted 
by tracing somewhat more minutely his earlier charac- 
teristics and position. 

Almost immediately on leaving the law school at Cin- 
cinnati, young Weaver, then but about twenty-three 



IOO OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

years of age, opened a law office at Bloomfield. His 
whole capital consisted of his physical vigor and bodily 
health with the mental, moral, intellectual and legal 
acquirements he had been able to secure in . the 
seven years of labor and study, which formed the novi- 
tiate of his self-sustained career. But bold in heart, 
and determined in purpose, he crossed the threshold from 
student to active life, feeling that there was no such word 
as failure in the lexicon of his future. 

In the midst of friends who had learned to appreciate 
his industrious ambition and his moral worth, in the very 
heart of the rapidly increasing State in which he had 
grown into manhood, and to whose future he had dedi- 
cated his fortune, he felt that confidence in himself, that 
conscious integrity and determined energy always inspire. 
Iowa was developing its rich fields of productive industry 
with a prosperity and progress without a parallel in the 
history of States, unless it might be found in the rapid 
growth of some of her sister empires in the west. Free 
from all the hindrances and prejudices of older civiliza- 
tions, she was full of opportunities for the industrious and 
honest. Young Weaver had wedded his life to its life, 
determined to make himself a part of its growth, its 
prosperity and its character. 

Intensely American, he worked for bread and for fame, 
as if every day's life was the dependent necessity of every 
day's labor. He could not help succeeding, for he was 
diligent in the performance of every duty and was quick 
to show that he bore within him the oratory and genius 
of intellectual power. Combining this, with the talent 
wrought from years of studious labor and the varied 



LIEE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. IOI 

experiences of his life, he appeared to be able to judge 
and compare as if he comprehended the event he pur- 
sued, by intuitive perceptions of all its logical results. 

Genius is the child of originality, a strange and power- 
ful current springing fresh and clear from invisible foun- 
tains of good sense in the man who possesses it, and 
which at the right hour is poured forth in copious streams, 
rolling limpid and pure into the daily current of life. 

Young Weaver, in the very commencement of his pro- 
fessional career, displayed that seemingly intuitive knowl- 
edge, which, finding its expression in an oratory full of 
the genius of command, assured his success at the bar. 
He had worked his way to a successful practice, won to 
his affections a wife to comfort, aid and encourage him 
in his daily labors and aspirations ; mastered the 
trials of the first years of practice, and was vigorously at 
work in performing the daily increasing demands for his 
professional services, when the startling echo of that re- 
lentless cry for civil war reverberated through the land, 
as the loud-mouthed cannon of South Carolina belched 
forth their defiant challenge at Fort Sumpter. 

Young Weaver heard the summons. It was the South 
against the North to sustain human slavery. It was the 
North defending its flag to sustain human liberty. He 
was for liberty. He did not wait for requisitions for men, 
or for position to command, but with his great heart 
swelling with devotion to the old flag under which, friend- 
less and poor, he had been able to march to manhood, 
respectability and professional success, he enlisted in the 
ranks, enlisted to give his life and blood, his hopes and 
his manhood to his country and its cause. He was 



102 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

elected first lieutenant to company G, of the Iowa infan- 
try, and soon promoted as Major. This was October 3, 
1862. The regiment was a reality; it was at the work 
of life and death for liberty. 

They were engaged in deadly strife at the battle of 
Corinth, October 12, 1862. The Colonel and the Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel were killed; it was a hand to hand fight, 
in which, the desperate courage and savage will of the 
South were pitted against men who were on the field of 
battle with but one purpose, liberty or death — and they 
won. The gallant part taken in that bloody and eventful 
battle by General Weaver, promoted him to the Colonelcy. 
Shortly after he was promoted to position of Brigadier- 
General for gallantry on the field. 

General Weaver was not educated for military life, but 
he led the gallant Second until the expiration of the term 
of service, on the 27th of May, 1864, when he was mus- 
tered out. He never missed a march, a skirmish, or a 
battle, and came near to being hit at Fort Donelson, 
when a ball passed through the top of his cap and 
plowed a furrow through his hair. At the battle of 
Reseca, Georgia, he led the brigade that crossed the 
Oostanala, found the enemy's position there, laid the 
pontoon bridges under fire, and after crossing the brigade* 
jumped into the rifle pits and drove the enemy before 
him. He makes no claim to the laurels of the victor, or 
to any great achievement on the field of battle. He was 
called to combat ; he answered the call, did his duty 
manfully, boldly, nay even brilliantly. All time will 
entwine his name, as inseparably connected with the hard 
fought triumph of the battle of Corinth ; what is more, 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. IO3 

from the hour he enlisted until the war closed, he was 
always at the post of duty, a living soldier of patriotism, 
honest to himself, honest to his country, his home and his 
God. 

The war closed, General Weaver with the whole five 
hundred thousand veterans, then better than ever pre- 
pared to defend their country, passed almost without 
attracting public attention, into the avocations of peace 
and the labors of active life. After devoting their very 
being to the noble and genuine patriotism of elevating 
the nation to the level of its untold privileges as a politi- 
cal power, they resumed the industries of peace to heal 
the wounds the war had inflicted, and set in motion the 
energies of a renewed life to develop the commerce, 
agriculture and manufacturing of the country, until the 
whole God blessed heritage of freemen was energetic in 
the activities of enterprise. 

General Weaver at once returned to Bloomfield and 
entered with his new manhood and the experience the 
wide diversities of situation and acquaintance the war 
had given to him, into the practice of the law. He was 
recognized everywhere as a man of the people. He was 
popular because he was bold and just, and always ready 
to do unto others as he would that others should do unto 
him. Right was his rule and justice his aim. 

Appointed District Attorney, one of the most arduous 
and responsible of public offices, he performed the duties 
with careful fidelity to the demands of justice, and the no 
less imperative claims of humanity. Firm without obsti- 
nacy, prompt without haste, and confident without arro- 
gance, he filled the duty of public prosecutor with 
5* 



104 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

universal satisfaction to the courts and with the most 
deserved applause by the people. He retired from the 
District Attorneyship to accept the office of United 
States Assessor of Revenue for the district of Iowa. He 
performed the responsible duties of this office with fideli- 
ty to the Government and to the people and continued 
to administer its affairs until the office was discontinued. 

General Weaver, from the moment of the appearance 
of the Greenback as the national fiat that it had taken a 
new step in the financial policy of the country, was its 
open, unqualified and determined advocate. He felt 
that while the Government was struggling to rid itself 
from the barbaric infamy of human slavery, that it had 
broken another chain which held it enthralled to as 
tyranical usurpers of human property, as the slave dealer 
and owner was of human flesh. 

Gold and silver had for centuries been the instrument 
of universal brigandage and usury. Limited in quantity, 
controlled by the powerful and the rich, they were the 
one power to which all political power had been forced 
to yield. He was convinced of these facts, and that men 
and governments were slaves to coin and its owners ; 
that all Asia and India, excepting the privileged owners 
of coin, were kept in servitude to its oligarchic power. 
That England was a living mass of pauperism and imbe- 
cility under the domination of coin, wherever it 
enslaved ; that England had under its iron-heeled tyr- 
anny descended from 1,000,000 of comparatively independ- 
ent property owners in a population of 15,000,000, in three- 
quarters of a century, to less than 70,000 comparatively 
independent property owners in a population of jd,000,000. 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 105 

He knew that when coin reigned in finances, public 
debts and taxation reigned over the people. He knew 
that the few could and always did control it. He knew 
that he who has the power to control, has the power to 
tyrannize over those he has the power to control ; and 
all time and all history had taught him that the money 
power was the most heathen, relentless and unscrupulous 
power that ever dominated over a prostrate people. Pity 
cannot reach it. Starvation cannot move it. Ireland 
tells its story ! 

When he first received the Greenback, it passed like 
gold, for it represented the Nation — was the nation — its 
Property, its law, its honor , its poiuer. Shylock had forced 
its issue. It had said to Secretary Chase, "Gold and 
silver there is none." It had skulked away to Europe, 
or hid itself in the double-locked safe of the calculating 
usurer, to make profit out of blood and quadrupled 
usury out of the demands of war. It said to Secre- 
tary Chase, "take our bills, our paper money, and we 
will supply your wants. It is true we don't pay or redeem 
our bills in specie, but we are the bankers and money 
kings of the land." 

Secretary Chase, and the great and good but timid men 
who surrounded him, said : "You ask us to take your 
individual promise to pay ; your individual credit to use 
as money to meet the demands of the United States." 
And he said : " I will take the credit of the Government, 
the people, the nation, bottomed on taxes, and I will 
issue Treasury certificates as money, precisely as Frank- 
lin had done in Pennsylvania ; precisely as Thomas 
Jefferson had over and over again recommended." 



106 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

After discussing the whole subject of finance and 
weighing all schemes, Jefferson had declared "that bank 
paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must 
be restored to the Nation to whom it belongs. It is the 
only fund on which they can rely for loans ; it is the only 
recourse which can never fail them, and it is an abundant 
one for every necessary purpose. Treasury bills bot- 
tomed on taxes, to any extent that may be found neces- 
sary, thrown into circulation will take the place of gold 
and silver, and so the nation may continue to issue its 
bills as far as its wants require and the limits of circula- 
tion will admit." Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Calhoun, 
Webster and Clay sustained this doctrine ; General Weaver 
adopted it. 

The Greenback was issued as a full legal tender, but it 
could only be issued by virtue of a law of Congress, 
establishing the amount and time and circumstances of 
the issuing. The amount issued by virtue of the first 
appropriation was exhausted. It was always at a par 
with gold, simply because it was made a full legal tender. 
No money was more eagerly or confidently received by 
the people. No desire was ever so eagerly or so madly 
attached by the bankers and money power. 

A new and a large appropriation was demanded. The 
Treasury was empty. The army was in the field. To 
rely on gold or banks was to give up the battle. Govern- 
ment credit was the sole recourse. We had to issue 
bonds bearing interest to get money, and sell them in the 
market for what they would fetch, or issue Treasury cer- 
tificates as money to the full limit of our wants, as Jeff- 
erson recommended. 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 107 

In this emergency, Mr. Chase and the Committee on 
Ways and Means prepared a bill with timid care, not yet 
indoctrinated into the grandeur, safety and incomparable 
superiority of such money over that of all other systems 
ever devised, to issue $150,000,000 as a full legal tender 
for all debts, public and private, redeemable in bonds of 
the United States in sums of $50, or any multiple of that 
sum, instead of issuing them as Jefferson recommended 
bottomed on taxes. 

This bill, after the most elaborate efforts to defeat it, 
on unconstitutional and bug-bear grounds, coined out of 
the fruitful brains of the money power, passed the House. 
It went to the Senate. Then the great bankers prepared 
to kill it — cripple it, or load it down with such marks of 
inferiority as should make it the easy instrument of their 
nefarious designs. 

Bankers, money hessians, usurers, and the whole tribe 
of Israelitish knaves who grow oppulent on misfortune 
and become rich out of the misery they create, combined 
to defeat the bill, or so amend it as to place the Treasury 
and finances of the nation completely in their power. 
These worse than Hessians saw that if the bill passed as 
it was it would render the people financially independent. 
They saw that it would cut off all chances for them to 
rob the people. They were astute enough to see that to 
carry out the policy this bill established would transfer 
the control of the money of the nation from bankers and 
usurers, to the people. It was emancipation of the 
masses. It was the hand writing on the wall for the 
money kings. 

It was therefore the battle of the giants for control. 



Io8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

The great bankers of New York, with Coe at their head, 
sustained by Gallatin and Martin as leaders, Bates and 
Walley and their coadjutors of the Boston banks, with 
Rogers, Mercer and Patterson and their assistants of the 
Philadelphia banks, associated themselves as representing 
the capital, the wealth and monied power of the nation, 
as bankers and brokers, to influence the Committee of 
the Senate to report against the bill. This they well 
knew they could not accomplish. To kill the bill then 
was figuratively to kill the nation, for the life of the bill 
was the credit, which is the next thing to the life of the 
nation. 

The bankers then culminated in the bond policy, and 
they determined the bill should be so amer. led as to 
make reliance upon the Greenback an impossibility, and 
dependence on the bond policy an absolute necessity. 

How was this to be done ? The first step was to 
frighten the Committee of the Senate into the belief that 
capitalists would utterly repudiate and discredit the 
Greenback if it was issued in such quantities as the Gov- 
ernment demanded. That the only line of policy capi- 
talists could or would sustain, was to issue bonds, i?iterest 
and principal payable in coin. That if the Government 
adopted this course capital would aid it, and stand by it. 
If it issued a full legal tender Greenback they would 
oppose and discredit it. That bonds could only be nego- 
tiated, the interest of which was payable i?i coin. That 
coin to pay this interest so that the purchasers of bonds 
would feel secure, could only be relied upon by making the 
duties on foreign merchatidise payable in coin alone. 

To accomplish this, it was necessary for the Committee 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. IO9 

to consent to an amendment which should repudiate our own 
credit, discredit our own legal tender money and place it on 
the market to be carped at by jews, discarded by bankers and 
slafidered by the whole gambling throng of curbstone 
brokers. 

But the money power was omnipotent. The Senate 
yielded to its mandates, — consented to so amend the bill 
as to print repudiation on the back of every bill, in these 
words : " Not receivable for Duties on Imports, or for 
Interest on the public debt." They further so amended 
the bill as to make the gold value of the Greenback the 
market value of United States bonds. 

This infamy, — the most damnable that ever disgraced 
Congress, and the most costly to the tax-burthened pro- 
ducer ever enacted to impose upon a confiding but 
swindled people^ — became a law ; but not till these 
money lords had made complete the subjugation of the 
people, by exempting the bonds to be issued from all 
taxation. 

The great mass of the people did not comprehend the 
aim and purpose with which their own and their country's 
money was thus insultingly disgraced. It was as diaboli- 
cal as if Congress had voted to print, in burning words 
of shame across every flag of stars that floats to the 
breeze on land or sea: "The nation has yielded to its 
Shylocks. The people are subjugated to the Hessians of 
the money market." 

The result was soon seen. The repudiated Greenback 
was proclaimed as worthless as the French Assignat or 
the Continental money of the Continental Congress. 
Wall street, New York ; Third street, Philadelphia and 



HO OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Boston, vilified it, slandered it, and exhausted the whole 
vocabulary of financial lies to undervalue it on the mar- 
ket. Gold went up, Greenbacks went down, and yet no 
bonds were sold. Gold was magnified as an unqualified 
necessity, — Greenbacks as a disgraceful cheat, till gold 
went up to 200, Greenbacks down to 50, and still the 
work of depreciation went on in the exact ratio as our 
demand for money was intensified. Gold reached 285 ; 
Greenbacks down to 38. 

At this point of our financial history, Capital hit upon 
the grand expedient of offering to come to the aid of the 
country, provided bonds could be made the basis for 
bank circulation, and further providing the Government 
would give a monopoly of banking to National Banks, 
and furnish ninety per cent, of the face value of the 
bonds in United States currency, guaranteed by the 
Government, without charge, to be lent as money at dis- 
count rates by the banks. A deeper plan of public 
robbery was never imposed upon an intelligent people ; 
but the banks got just what they demanded. 

The sale of bonds then commenced. $400,000,000 
were sold at 42 cents on the dollar. Thus, at one stroke, 
$232,000,000 were paid as a share to get $168,000,000 of 
gold. The sales went on, till $410,000,000 more bonds 
were sold to be made the basis for banking for the 
aggregate sum of $197,250,000, giving to the bankers 
$212,750,000, as a share — more than doubling their capi- 
tal before they started. Besides this, the Government 
gave the banks $350,000,000 in currency, to lend on 
compound interest. 

This was but the initiatory step. Capital had usurped 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. Ill 

the banking monopoly of the nation. It had $350,000- 
000 in currency, for which it had not paid a dollar ; and 
it had $410,000,000 of bonds drawing gold interest, for 
which it had paid but $197,250,000. 

This was not enough. The bonds issued had been 
drawn payable in legal currency. The capitalists now 
clamored, with the whole metropolitan press subsidized to 
sustain them, for a Congressional declaration that the 
whole indebtedness should, and of right must be, payable 
in coin. The people had no voice, — Congress was con- 
trolled by capital. Capital said, "pass the Credit Strength- 
ening Act" Congress passed it. Two hundred millions 
were thus imposed upon the taxpayer, by a robbery 
without a single palliating excuse to mitigate its outrage- 
ous effrontery, for the benefit of foreign Jews and 
American usurers, who had purchased their bonds at less 
than fifty cents on a dollar, and who had already received 
back the full amount they had paid in interest. 

Capital, by this bill had secured a Congressional decla- 
ration, that all the bonds should be paid in coin, yet 
greedy with the usurious greed of the vampire, it took 
another step, and through the aid of five hundred thou- 
sand dollars paid by the agent of the Rothchilds, these 
lines were introduced into a bill foreign to the subject, 
demonetizing silver, leaving the people and the United 
States no means of liquidating their debts but by pay- 
ment in gold. 

The necessary result of these bills, all dictated and 
passed under the controling influence of foreign capital 
and the overpowering combination of the banks, 
associated into a confederated oligarchy to rule the 



112 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

finances of the nation, was contraction ; for the whole 
country saw that as gold was soon to be the the only- 
medium of legal payment, that immediate measures 
must be taken to provide for the financial crisis so near 
at hand. 

And yet one more step was necessary to place the 
people, the property and the credit of the country com- 
pletely under the power of the banks, and gamblers at 
the stock board, — that was, to force on a law demanding 
a resumption of specie payment ; and that at a time 
when the whole specie in the United States was not 
equal to the business demands of a single city. Gold 
not to exceed $200,000,000, all told ; with government 
obligation reaching the sum of $2,500,000,000 ; with 
private and business indebtedness double this amount. 

The fact that the National Banks, the Bank Associa- 
tion, Bondholders, and foreign speculators controlled our 
finances was not alone the result of the bond inflation 
into which Congress had been drawn, but the same reasons 
which had led to the infamous privileges granted to the 
National Banks and to the unheard of usury by which 
we had sold "our bonds for what they would fetch," and 
by which we had in a single transactio?i paid $>2j2, ooo,ooo } 
as an absolute share to get $i6S,ooo,ooo in gold, led us to 
those enormous land grants and charters, and money 
advances, which robbed the people and the nation of 
300,000,000 acres of our public domain, to give it to 
gambling knaves, — subsidised Congressmen and specula- 
tors in our national disgrace. 

With these enormous land grants, were money or bond 
grants (bonds exempt from taxation) to the extent of 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 113 

$60,000,000 ; with a practical monopoly of the highways 
of the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Out of 
these grants, utterly without Constitutional support, pro- 
cured by the basest frauds which ever tarnished the 
legislation of Congress, grew up corporate combinations 
and corporate powers which, in extent of their franchises, 
in magnitude of capital and insolence of control, surpass 
any monopolies that have ever before trampled upon the 
rights of government or people in the history of the 
world. They ruled States, Legislatures, Congress and 
the people. Arrogant with power, insolent with wealth, 
and in possession of the highways and the transportation 
from ocean to ocean, and from regions of eternal snows 
in the north to regions of perpetual flowers in the south, 
they combined with the banks, bond-holders and usurers, 
to centralize the government to their control. 

The crisis they sought commenced its culminating 
power in 1873. ^ e na d contracted our circulating 
medium from $1,944,710,294.51, Jan. 1, 1865, to $702,- 
794,487.51, in 1875. The result was almost unusual 
bankruptcy. Failures went from 662 in 1866, to 10,000 
in 1876, and 12,000 in 1877. Factories were closed; 
three million of men were out of employment ; millions 
were without home, bread or hope ; and nothing but the 
illimitable grandeur of our unequalled resources kept us 
from revolution and despair. But the great West poured 
its products in bounteous profusion, to meet the necessi- 
ties of the people at home and supply the demands from 
abroad, while our mines in the mountains through the 
whole auriferous region, literally stocked with minerals 
from Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, 



114 °UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Utah, Nevada and California, were giving us annually a 
hundred million of treasures. These resources, sup- 
ported by the indomitable will of our people who, like 
the old guard of Napoleon know how to die but can 
never learn how to surrender, kept us from yielding to 
that infernal system of political economy which makes 
an infinitesimal part of our production more omnipotent 
to control the destinies of our people, than the united 
grandeur of the whole, by this yielding to gold the 
favored few — the monopolent banks. The corporations, 
the tax-exempt bond holders, grow into enormous riches, 
while the struggling tax-paying producer and worker is 
reduced to an enslaved dependence on capital. 

General Weaver had been an ardent Republican, — cir- 
cumstances had made him one, — but he was no idle slave 
to political dogmas. He saw that the Republican party 
had trafficked away the great purposes for which it was 
organized ; that it had leagued with capital to secure 
political power ; that it had sold its loyalty to corporate 
knaves, to make sure of winning the support of corpo- 
rate combinations ; that it had degenerated from a great 
party, devoted to human liberty, to become a monied 
power, devoted to centralization, aristocracy and monop- 
olies ; that it was ruled by cliques, managed by " bosses," 
and run by the bank association, and he cut the cable, 
and put himself in open, defiant and manly opposition to 
its leaders, its purposes and its legislation. 

During the progress of the legislation so palpably 
antagonistic to all of the industrial and productive inter- 
ests of the country, men all over the land began to dis- 
cuss and inquire into the object and purpose of it ; and 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 115 

there were not wanting brave and manly souls to 
denounce it. Among others, the Hon. Peter Cooper, — a 
man above ambition, beyond want, on the very pinnacle 
of commercial fame, honored for a long and active life, 
devoted to the best interests of his fellow man, yet too 
much in love with his country and the welfare of his 
countrymen to remain silent when experience and a 
disinterested judgment, based upon the activities of the 
largest and most successful enterprise of the land, bade 
him denounce the financial system which was overwhelm- 
ing the nation with debt, bankruptcy, forced idleness 
and despair. 

Through his exertions and those of Henry Cary Baird, 
Henry C. Carey, Moses Field and other liberal and dis- 
interested patriots, the Greenback party sprang into 
existence. Its first object was purely financial. Gradu- 
ally it enlarged its philosophies, its objects and its views, 
until it became the avowed champion of those human 
rights which politically unite men in regulating the gov- 
ernments and laws under which they live. It became 
the Great Reform party of the time. 

As land is the essential element for production, and as 
Government holds an immense territory in trust for the 
people, to be distributed in limited quantities so as to 
promote the welfare of all, it declares it to be the duty 
of Congress to hold the entire public domain for actual 
occupancy and homesteads ; to grant no subsidies from 
it for individuals or corporations. That as each head of 
a family is legally entitled to a homestead, and as a great 
proportion of the laboring poor and industrious young men 
and women are unable to get on to homesteads and make 



Il6 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

them places of abode and cultivation without aid, that it is 
the duty of Congress to loan, on such terms as shall be just 
and secure, a sufficient sum to enable every head of a family 
to avail themselves of the advantages of the Homestead 
Act, and thus so divide our lands and encourage cultiva- 
tion and thrift as to elevate labor into independence, 
industry into the royalty of a home and its ownership, 
and the people into those equalities and opportunities 
which leave no room for indigence, beggary and crime. 

That as land without labor is fruitless, and as all the 
nation or the people have or possess owes its origin to 
labor and could not have existed without it, that it is the 
highest duty of government to so protect labor from un- 
just laws, degrading competition, and servile employment, 
as to make the laborer feel the honest dignity of his em- 
ployment, and know that by it he can secure to himself 
and his family, a justly remunerative compensation. 

That as land and labor produce all the varieties of nat- 
ural products, markets for their distribution, exchange and 
sale become necessary, and therefore a medium of ex- 
change and a measure of value becomes essential. This 
medium of exchange is known as money. Money is the 
creature or creation of law. It is just what the sovereign 
power declares it shall be. Congress is the sovereign 
representative of the people in the United States to make 
and declare all laws. It and it alone has the power to 
declare what shall constitute lawful money, how it shall 
be issued and what shall be its powers. 

Under the old system, based upon the aristocratic and 
oligarchic principles of favoritism and despotic power, the 
authority to issue money was delegated to persons and to 



LIFE OF JAMES A. WEAVER. 117 

corporations. Paper money, and that almost exclusively 
has been used and issued, based on individual credit and 
individual liability, always bolstered into respectability 
by the pretense that it was at all times redeemable in coin. 
For two hundred years the civilized world has been 
duped, swindled and cheated by using this pretended 
money, issued not by governments, but by individuals to 
whom the government delegated the power. This sys- 
tem was exposed by Jefferson, Franklin, Madison 
Jackson, Benton, Calhoun, and a long list of men, emi. 
nent for their knowledge, experience and disinterested 
judgment. The whole system was a sham. More than 
fifty per cent, of all the paper money issued by banks 
and individuals under delegated authority has been lost 
— robbed from the bill-holder. 

The Greenback party therefore assumed, and took the 
true Jeffersonian doctrine, that the Government of the 
United States should issue all the money used in the 
United States ; that no banks of issue should be permitted 
to exist ; that in whatever form the money may be 
issued, it shall be a legal tender for all and every pur- 
pose ; that as much money should be issued as may be 
required to sustain labor by just rewards, fairly equalize 
values and confine interest to such a per cent, that the 
lender shall have no greater reward or annual per cent, 
than the average profit of the producer. 

With the land, labor and money thus provided for the 
duties and burthens of the people which the adoption of 
the bonded system has imposed upon them, come next in 
point of importance. $2,000,000,000 of bonds and cer- 
tificates of indebtedness, robbed from the Government 



-Jl8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

by the frauds of the money power, at half their value — 
exempt from all taxation. More than $400,000,000 of 
this amount is held by the national banks, and eight hun- 
dred millions more become due and may be paid in the 
years 1880 and 1881. The National Greenback Labor 
party takes the broad ground, that it is the duty of the 
Government to pay every bond as fast as it matures, or 
can be paid by the terms on which it was issued ; that 
the Government shall issue no more bonds ; that it shall 
issue full legal-tender Greenbacks as money, bottomed on 
taxes and on the sovereignty, power, honor, property, 
public and private, in the United States. 

A further fundamental theory on which this reform was 
based, was that it was an unconstitutional and unparal- 
leled outrage to free a rich man from the payment of taxes, 
and impose his taxes on his neighbor, a poor man. That 
the Republican party has placed more than $3,000,000,- 
000 of personal property, held by the richest men in the 
United States, beyond the power of government to tax 
it ; it has made a law of privilege for a privileged class, 
and has thus given $75,000,000 annually to the 300,000 
bondocrats to be paid by the hard toil of the producer. 

The National Greenback Labor Party have entered 
their solemn protest against these outrages. 

General Weaver left the Republican party, then in the 
full tide of victory, when there was no position he could 
not command, and no office he could not secure. He 
left it in the State of Iowa, when to be a Republican and 
have the confidence of the party, was to be on the high- 
way to any honor the State could bestow. He adopted 
the principles of the National Greenback Labor party 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 119 

because he believed that the future prosperity of our 
country and of our people depended upon it. He esti- 
mated the full extent of the indignity of having the 
Rothschilds manipulate our laws and control our finances. 
He believed that the people were as capable of managing 
their finances as they were to found States. 

He therefore entered into the gubernatorial canvass of 
1877, in the full spirit and full faith of the great reforms 
the Greenback movement had inaugurated ; working with 
faultless zeal for the Greenback candidate, Hon. D. P 
Stubbs, until the close of the canvass. During the sum- 
mer and fall which preceded the Congressional election, 
he was active in organizing the new party into condition 
for efficient work. When the Convention convened to 
nominate a candidate for Congress for his district, he 
was selected with that fire of enthusiastic zeal which 
leaves no room to question the popularity or the power 
of the candidate. 

His opponent, G. S. Sampson, was a full-fledged Re- 
publican, a man of education, popularity, eloquence and 
wealth. The canvass was a spirited and manly duel 
before the people, but General Weaver fully compre- 
hended the issues he had to discuss — he was master of 
them. The great mass of the voting population attended 
the public meetings at which he discussed the finances 
Mr. Sampson was then in Congress. The Republicans 
felt sure of his re-election, but finding that General 
Weaver was attracting great crowds, and winning confi- 
dence and favor wherever he spoke, they selected the 
strongest debater in the State, the then Attorney-General 
Cutts, to meet him in joint debate and discuss the issues 
6 



120 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

of the campaign. These debates were full of the energy 
of justice and truth on the part of General Weaver, 
they were as masterly and able as his opponent could 
make the cause of monopolists. The campaign, in many 
of its features, was similar to that noted political duel 
which excited the whole American people, when Stephen 
A. Douglass and Abraham Lincoln discussed together 
the question of squatter sovereignty, through Illinois, as 
the great issue to determine which of the champions 
should win the honor of an election to the United States 
Seriate. Douglass won the votes, Lincoln the fame of 
the contest ; while in the battle between Weaver and 
Sampson, Weaver not only won the votes by a large ma- 
jority, but established his fame as a public debater 
beyond all cavil or dispute. He received 16,366 votes 
against 14,308 cast for his opponent — making a clean 
majority of 2,056 votes in his favor. 



CHAPTER VII. 
LIFE OF GEN. JAMES B. WEAVER.— Continued. 

From that day General Weaver became the admitted 
champion of the great reforms inaugurated by the Green- 
back National party in the Northwest. It is true that 
his colleague, Edward H. Gillette, has also won his way 
to Congress from the Des Moines district, by a battle 
little less notable, by advocating the exact reforms which 
had made the canvass of General Weaver destructive. 
Both young, in the very prime of life, both cultivated, 
scholarly, able and honest, they have been friends for 
years ; as members of the bar they were often associated, 
and from the date of their elections they were united by 
the dearest ties of political sympathy and congressional 
effort. 

Possessing ability equal to the high positions they oc- 
cupied, they had no sooner reached Washington than 
they at once entered into the contests their position as 
radical reformers was certain to excite. In all, the ut- 
most strength the Greenback National Labor party 
could command for Congressional battle, was fourteen. 
Most of these were without experience in Congressional 
contests. There was DeLaMatyr, the eloquent and 
masterly apostle of reform from Indiana ; the young, 
ardent and clear-headed Ford of Missouri ; the able and 
logical statesman, George W. Jones, of Texas ; the rep- 
resentative of the stone cutters of Maine, the incorrupt!- 



122 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

ble and sound-headed Murch, with his colleague Judge 
Ladd ; the young, brilliant and accomplished sons of 
Alabama ; Judge Daniel Lindsay Russell, of North Car- 
olina ; the well-informed and able lawyer, Yocum, of 
Pennsylvania. These with Gillette and General Weaver 
were all new members. 

But the National Greenback Labor party was not with- 
out its experienced legislators and acknowleged statesmen. 
Hon. Hendricks B. Wright was an early and an avowed 
advocate of its reforms. Living through half a century 
of our history ; prominently identified with the political 
and progressive developments of the country from the 
administration of Jackson, he stood in the very van of 
the statesmen of the age. By his side, stood his colleague, 
William D. Kelly, one of the patriarchs of the House ; 
a statesman by experience, a scholar by study, and a 
genius by nature ; these men, with the gifted Stevenson, 
of Illinois, made up the representatives of the people, 
to advocate the reforms and establish the land, financial and 
industrial platform which constitutes their basis for po- 
litical action. 

It was thought that there was popular force enough in 
Republican management, to nulify any efforts which 
might be made to interfere with the financial policy they 
had inaugurated. The Democratic leaders were on the 
ragged edge of doubt, as to just what line of policy to 
pursue. Each of the old parties, while they were court- 
ing popular endorsement, yet sought to win the support 
of the great moneyed corporations which had so largely 
absorbed the capital, and were so industriously seeking 
to control the business interests of the country. They 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 1 23 

therefore united to meet at the outset every attempt of 
the reform leaders. The programme was settled, they 
were to be put down. They did not comprehend the 
power of men struggling to enforce truths and secure 
rights ; nor yet, that each rebuff of an earnest, honest 
thinker was but a new spur to urge on the smouldering 
enthusiasm which flames forth at the first attempt to 
silence its evangelisms of justice. 

General Weaver took his seat with his colleague and 
the newly elected Greenback associates, as the first dis- 
tinctive representatives of the reform movement. He 
was not hasty to announce his position, but calmly wait- 
ing to take advantage of time and opportunity, he was 
ready for any emergency, and to meet the conflict which 
the agitation of the labor, land and financial questions 
was certain to excite. Just in the full vigor of manhood, 
commanding in appearance, electric in manner, educated 
by long professional encounters, to the emergencies of 
debate, fully imbued with the great truths he had been 
elected to advocate, and rich with that incomparable en- 
thusiasm the glorious West inspires in the men who 
comprehend its wonderful progress — its rapid growth into 
States and empires of freedom, where the brutal hoof of 
no power but that of the usurer and the corporate knaves 
who had enthralled by mortgage the homes af the people, 
had ever trampled the liberties of man in the dust — he 
felt confidence in himself, and was ready to meet in the 
collisions of debate whatever antagonisms might place 
themselves in the way to obstruct the ideals of right and 
truth, he and his party were sworn not only to defend, 
but to propagate into universal acceptance. 



124 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

The course of General Weaver in Congress is too 
recent, and too well known to be recapitulated in any- 
thing like minuteness of detail, and yet a brief reference 
to his votes, his speeches and his antagonisms, will serve 
to show how that electric current of popular opinion 
which culminated at Chicago, June ioth, 1880, in his 
nomination for the Presidency, obtained its power and 
produced the result. 

One of the first accusations he brought against "the 
blaspheming past" was the action by which Congress had 
nullified its own law, fixing the limit of a day's work for 
men in the employ of the Government. It was in every 
sense the working-men's law. In commenting upon the 
defeat of the resolution, reported from the committee on 
education and labor, requiring Government officials to en- 
force the eight hour law, approved June 25, 1868, and 
still unrepealed, but utterly ignored and disregarded by 
both Republican and Democratic Congresses, General 
Weaver said : 

"The working-men's bill to enforce the eight hour 
law was defeated in this house. Let me tell you that 
your action will recoil upon you. The eyes of the 
people are upon you, and you cannot escape. Remem- 
ber that when the American Congress says, that we will 
not enforce a law which was passed in the interest and at 
the behest of the working men of the country, but we 
will allow the heads of departments to violate that law, 
(to meet the demand of speculating contractors,) and 
then turn around and say that the laboring man must 
obey the laws of the country, you are setting a dangerous 
example ; you are sowing dragons teeth ; you are sowing 
wind and you will reap the whirlwind. I hope the house 
will reconsider this motion." 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 1 25 

Almost immediately after the eight hour bill was prac- 
tically nullified by the refusal of Congress to order its 
enforcement, the question of restoring the income tax on 
all incomes exceeding ten thousand dollars, came before the 
house. It was one of those measures which should at 
once have commanded the attention of Congress. Direct 
taxation to the full extent of the requirements of the Gov- 
ernment beyond the receipts for duties on foreign mer- 
chandise, on incomes above fifteen hundred dollars, is 
the doctrine of the National Greenback party. They 
who receive the benefits, should pay in the ratio of their 
receipts. This is the only mode of reaching those over- 
grown incomes which make their recipients dictatorial 
and powerful, and producing that equality among men 
essential to peace, the fair decrease of power and poli- 
tical liberty. General Weaver voted in favor of the bill ; 
but, as it required a two-thirds vote, it failed, but it failed 
only for the time. 

The next bill which attracted the attention of the 
country and awakened the liveliest interest of the 
reformers, was what was known as the " Silver Bill," a 
bill to establish free coinage of the 412^- grain silver dollar 
and to place it on the same footing with gold. 

On this bill General Weaver made one of those mas- 
terly speeches which not only gave him a position among 
the ablest orators of the house, but sent his name on 
telegraphic wings to every thinking and reading hamlet 
in the land. Members of Congress who had folded them- 
selves in the golden robes of complacency, over the idea 
that they were under the wings of the Bank Association, 
and who had a feeling appreciation of the surplus fund 



126 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

devoted to the oiling of that political machinery, which 
it was publicly declared was now so organized that the 
banks could at any time control the action of Congress, 
began to feel that it might not, after all, be quite so easy 
to control Congress and the people, as the money kings 
had imagined. 

General Weaver was master of the situation. True, he 
was in small minority ; true, every appliance of ridicule, 
every shaft of wit, every power of capital with its United 
States treasurer ready to do its bidding, were opposed to 
him ; but he had practical truths, facts, experiences and 
the common sense of mankind to sustain him, with a 
head, a brain and a heart nurtured in the bold and fear- 
less spirit of the West to sustain him. There was no 
surplus in the National Bank fund, equal to the task of 
purchasing sneers, wit or sophistry enough to overawe the 
young Hercules of the West. 

Again, on the 9th of May, General Weaver went 
through the ordeal to which every man who aspires to 
make himself the true representative, and dares to have 
an opinion of his own, is subjected, before he conquers 
his way to successful power in the House of Representa- 
tives. The question for debate was an act to amend cer- 
tain sections of the Revised Statutes of the United States 
relating to coinage, and coin, and bullion certificates. 

Fully prepared to discuss the measure, he entered 
upon the subject with a zeal and ability commensurate 
with its great importance. Among other things, he said: 

" If we are to demonetize silver, and have no power to 
create a legal tender money, it will be readily perceived 
that the proposition is to hitch the car of American 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 127 

progress and American civilization to the decreasing 
product — gold, and this will lead us into inevitable 
decline and pauperism." 

He denounced the infamous fraud by which silver was 
demonetised in 1873, as not only clearly unconstitutional, 
but as having been passed in the interest of foreign specu- 
lators in our bonds, and by the Hessians of the money 
market. He revived the history of the $1,500,000,000 
bonds originally made payable in currency, as clearly 
established by the declaration of the Senators and mem- 
bers of Congress who took a prominent part in the pass- 
age of the law, and declared that the Credit Strengthening 
Act of 1869 was passed in open fraud, to get rid of that 
interpretation. 

At this, the Republican leaders of the House defiantly 
interrupted him to inquire if he was not a Republican at 
that time, and if he had not vigorously supported Gen- 
eral Grant and his administration ? He was ready for 
the question. He admitted that he had been a Republi- 
can and that he had supported General Grant but he 
said : 

" I was in the same situation then that the gentle- 
man and many of his friends seem to be in now. I 
knew nothing about the question ; I had never investi- 
gated it. I was in the same condition with Paul of 
Tarsus, when on his way to Damascus. I have gathered 
some light since then, and I stand here frankly and 
plainly to say, having investigated this question, that a 
great public crime was committed against the labor of 
this country, by the so-called Credit Strengthening Act ; 
that it amounted, if not in intention, at all events in 
effect, to the robbery of our people, General Grant to 
the contrary notwithstanding." 



128 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Constantly interrupted and always ready for the attack, 
he repelled every effort to interfere with his argument, 
and met, with scorching sarcasm, each effort to confound 
his past with his present position. He declared that it 
was easy to read the animus of that Act in the opposi- 
tion this bill is meeting with in this House to-day, and 
throughout the country, at the hands of the monomatal- 
ists ; that the bill was smuggled through with a perfect 
knowledge that public sentiment would not tolerate it, 
and with the concealed and wicked purpose to deprive 
the people, the second time, of the right to pay the 
bonds, according to the terms the bond-holder had him- 
self imposed. 

He denounced the Credit Strengthening Act and the 
Act demonetising silver, as a conspiracy to defraud the 
Government and cheat the people, and declared that the 
cloven foot of the conspiracy was too plainly visible for 
gentlemen in that House, or on the stump, to cover it up. 
He charged directly home to the friends of those 
measures, that they were passed with the premeditated 
attempt to put the bonded debt in a condition in which 
it never could be paid, with the ulterior design to make 
the present banking system of the country, based upon 
the bonded debt, the great moneyed monopoly for all time 
to come. He said : 

"This National Banking System, it is claimed, fur- 
nishes an elastic system of currency ; that if the wants 
of trade require more money, the banks can get it by 
depositing more bonds, and if it becomes redundant, 
they can surrender it. They will regulate it solely for 
our good, of course. Thus, it is claimed that under 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 129 

the National Banking System, the amount of currency 
can be adjusted according to the demands of trade. 

* But, sir, I maintain that the elasticity which we get 
at the option of the banks constitutes one of the greatest 
objections to the system. Such elasticity reminds me of 
the first piece of India rubber I ever saw. A great big 
fellow came to school, when I was a little boy about ten 
years old, holding in his hand a piece of India rubber 
which he was stretching. He said to me, ' Jim, did you 
ever see anything like this ? I replied, ' I never did ; 
what is it?' 'Why,' said he, 'they call it India rubber. 
Take one end of it between your teeth.' I did so. 
'Now,' said he, 'pull!' I pulled and he pulled. While 
it was stretching out, while it was expanding, it did not 
hurt me a bit ; but when he let loose the other end, that 
was contraction,, and you may depend it was not pleasant. 
Now, the proposition is to put the rubber to the lips of 
the American people, and let the national banks* draw it 
out whenever they please, or let it snap whenever they 
please. 

" I say that it is one of the monster evils of the age 
and in defiance of all correct systems of finance, that we 
allow by law a set of men who are not elected by the 
people, who are not responsible to them for the manage- 
ment of their banking institutions, to regulate at will the 
volume of the currency. Such a system of finance is no 
better than a system of robbery ; and it has had that 
effect practically, as a million ruined homes can testify." 

The speech was not alone masterly in arrangement 
logical in its unanswerable position, eloquent in its illus- 
tration, but carried with it the force of truth, which the 
paid advocates of capital could neither answer or refute. 

On every occasion when the question of finance was 
before the house, General Weaver was prompt to do battle 
against the infamies by which the people had been subju- 



130 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

gated to the demands of the banking oligarchy ; and to 
the paying the taxes of the bonded nobility Republican 
legislation had imposed upon the people. 

Side by side, and day by day, he co-operated with his 
Greenback associates in the House in every effort to 
right the wrongs which the moneyed power had imposed 
upon the country. His colleague, Mr. Gillette, had for- 
cibly proclaimed the duty which devolved on reformers 
when in discussing the free coinage act. He said : 

" Let us say to every law that has robbed labor and blasted 
enterprise, you must go from the statute-books. The 
national banks must go ! the national bonds must go ! the 
land monopolist must go ! the law that bars out silver from 
our mints must go ! the mountain of idle money in the 
Treasury must go into the channels of business ! the mil- 
lions that have been absorbed by coin bonds must go out 
once more to make glad the heart of the toiler, and re- 
deem the bonds that bind him hand and foot." 

In this spirit, and to this end, every energy General 
Weaver could bring to bear was devoted. Always in his 
place, always prompt in the performance of the duties 
devolving upon him, he commanded a position and won 
a triumph in the House of Representatives rarely if ever 
surpassed by any member in the first session of his legis- 
lative duties. Silver was remonetized ; its coinage, if not to 
the full limit of his wishes, yet to a reasonable extent, was 
secured ; and the idea of prolonging the payment of the 
public debt, by funding into long time bonds, free from 
taxation, for the benefit of a bonded aristocracy, and as 
the foundation for limitless monopoly of the national 
bank swindle, was resisted for the time, at least, if not 
for all time. 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 131 

General Weaver also successfully introduced and car- 
ried the following important amendment to the coinage 
bill: 

"The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed 
and required to cause to be paid out without discrimina- 
tion, standard silver coin belonging to the Government, 
that may at any time be in the Treasury, the same as 
gold coin, in liquidation of all kinds of coin obligations 
against the Government." 

This amendment was of the utmost importance to the 
whole country, and was so recognized ; but the Secretary 
of the Treasury has defiantly nullified its purpose, and 
violated its letter and spirit to win the favor of the banks, 
bond-holders and usurers of the land. 

There is still another measure which came before the 
house for action, in which General Weaver placed him- 
self in full accord with the reformers. That was a bill 
supplemental to the Homestead Act, by which, aid to 
heads of families desirous of availing themselves of the 
law, was to be loaned to enable them to remove, to get set- 
tled, and get in their first crops ; a measure which is des- 
tined to do more to promote general welfare, more to 
elevate honest poverty into self-sustaining life, labor into 
independence, and manhood into the equalities of a just 
civilization, than any measure, aside from the Homestead 
Act, ever passed by Congress. 

To this measure General Weaver gave his hearty sup- 
port. He was also active in pressing the establishment 
of a Bureau for Labor Statistics. With all the zeal he 
could command he devoted himself to the general legis- 
lation, and by his persistent advocacy of the reforms to 



132 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

which I have referred, won a reputation in the first session, 
as a member of the House of Representatives, which 
made him conspicuous among the active and brilliant 
debaters of the Forty-sixth Congress. 

With the second session General Weaver found himself 
the target for constant attack from all the forces of the 
hard money, bank and bond monopolists. Almost at the 
outset he introduced the following : 

"A Bill for the Relief of the Soldiers and Sailors who 
served in the Army and Navy of the United States in 
the late war for the suppression of the Rebellion, and 
to restore to them equal rights with the holders of Gov- 
ernment bonds." 

The object of this bill was to equalize the soldiers and 
sailors pay, by making up to them the difference between 
the currency in which they were paid and coin. His 
argument was wholly unanswerable in sustaining this 
measure, if the Credit Strengthening Act could be sus- 
tained on principle, or be supported by any mode of 
reasoning, or any rule of equity. 

Capitalists had purposely degraded the Greenback, by 
printing repudiation on the back of every bill, till they 
had reduced its gold value to forty cents on a dollar ; 
they had made the value of the Greenback the measure 
of the value of the bond as between the Government 
and the purchaser, and then had swindled the Govern- 
ment out of sixty cents on the dollar, or more than eight 
hundred millions of dollars, provided they could by any 
fraud, cheat it into making the bonds payable in coin. 
It was the surplus money of the National Banks, of the 
Rothschilds, and of the Jews and cut throats of the 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. I33 

money market which bullied or intimidated Congress into 
the passage of this outrageous swindle. 

General Weaver was indignant that Congress should 
yield its ready acquiescence to this robbery of the people, 
and insisted with unanswerable logic, that if the capital- 
ist should be paid in coin, who had deliberately accepted 
the bonds paying in lawful currency, that the soldier and 
sailor who had given their lives to the cause and to the 
country at thirteen dollars per month, payable in coin, 
and who were obliged to take Greenbacks when they were 
worth but fifty cents on the dollar in coin, and thus lose 
one-half of their small pay, should be made good and 
have their pay made equivalent to gold as the bond- 
holders had succeeded in doing with their bonds. 

The bill was a fire brand in the very heart of the 
Republican camp. They recognized the justice of the 
demand but they dared not admit it, for that would be to 
place the soldier who had battled to save his country 
and sustain its credit, on a par with capitalists who had 
shaved it out of a thousand million of dollars, depre- 
ciated its credit, created privileged patents of nobility 
for an untaxed aristocracy, and played hot and cold in 
the days of civil war and strife. The soldier and the 
sailor were mere laborers, and to the average Congress- 
man they were but hewers of wood and drawers of water 
to the banking and bond aristocracy. 

Republicans and Democrats, while they recognized the 
equity of the claim but did not dare to admit it, were yet 
afraid to openly approve the bill, for each day from the 
introduction of the bill by General Weaver, there was a 
flood of petitions poured in from all sections of the 



134 0UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

country. Every art of cunning, every device of political 
knavery and every subterfuge of congressional equivoca- 
tion was resorted to, to be-little, ridicule and keep the 
measure from consideration by the house. 

More than six hundred thousand petitions demanded 
the passage of the act. General Weaver knew that it 
could bide its time ; if he could not get a committee to 
report upon it, he could keep the subject before the peo- 
ple whose hearts it had warmed into enthusiastic devotion 
for him. They saw in General Weaver the rare object of 
their wonder and admiration. A member of Congress 
who recognized the rights of labor, and who had the 
manly courage to defend them in the face of all the brutal 
defiances of the rich and aristocratic. 

They knew that every platform of the Republican 
party had become chronic with pretentious devotion to 
the soldier, but they knew as well that it was but words 
to catch the ear, and that they had nothing to expect. 
In General Weaver's bill, five hundred thousand firesides 
were to be made glad over a late but merited justice, and 
his name became enshrined in the hearts and homes of 
the defenders of the land from ocean to ocean. 

But the great battle of the old parties in Congress did 
not reach its climax against the reformers, nor yet against 
the defiant young Hercules of the West, until he appealed 
to Congress to make a distinctive declaration of its prin- 
ciples on the financial issues of the day. For this purpose 
he drew up the resolutions which, it was well understood, 
he was to introduce for the purpose of securing a test 
vote of the House. 

This, both Republicans and Democrats were deter- 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 135 

mined to evade. It was a year for Presidential nomina- 
tions. Each party was afraid to commit itself to any 
distinctive policy until its conventions should have met 
and determined upon its platform. The Greenback had 
become too popular for any party to entirely disavow it, 
and yet the Republicans were pledged for its overthrow 
but dared not put themselves distinctly on record for 
their entire withdrawal, while the Democrats, debating 
between their fears of offending the bank and bond aris- 
tocracy, and the known popularity of the legal tender as 
the exact kind of currency recommended by Jefferson, 
Jackson, Franklin and Calhoun, were equally averse to 
defining their position. 

Under this state of facts, each party determined to 
stave off if possible, any effort on the part of General 
Weaver and his associate Greenback Congressmen to 
bring it to a distinctive vote. 

To carry out this design, the Speaker of the House, 
then ambitious to secure the nomination for the Presi- 
dency, and at all hazards to keep his party in the strict 
line of a non-committal policy, not only threw every 
obstacle in the way of General Weaver's introducing his 
resolutions, but absolutely, through the intrigues of 
Democrats and Republicans, turned his back upon him, 
and stifled that freedom of speech which is the dearest 
and most sacred prerogative belonging to a representative 
of the people. 

Unterrined by rebuff, every time at his post of duty, 
determined to maintain his right at all hazards, General 
Weaver, week after week, presented his resolutions, and 
was as often forced into silence by the arbitrary ruling of 



I36 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

the Speaker, until the public press was forced into 
denouncing his insolence as opposed to the fundamental 
rights of every Congressional representative, and subver- 
sive of that liberty of speech which is an essential 
requisite of liberty itself. But like John Quincy Adams, 
when battling against the insolence of Southern dictation 
in denying the right of petition, General Weaver could 
neither be put down or silenced, and so maintained his 
manhood as a Statesman and as a patriot, as to force the 
Speaker and the House to listen to his resolutions and to 
what he had to say in introducing them. These resolu- 
tions have become historical from the very effort made 
to suppress them. They were in these words : 

Resolved, That it is the sense of this House that all 
currency, whether metalic or paper, necessary for the use 
and convenience of the people, should be issued and its 
volume controlled by the government, and not by or 
through the bank corporations of the country ; and, 
when so issued, should be a full legal tender in payment 
of all debts, — public and private. 

2. Resolved, That in the judgment of this House, 
that portion of the interest-bearing debt of the United 
States which shall become redeemable in the year 1881, 
or prior thereto, being in amount $782,000,000, should 
not be refunded beyond the power of the government to 
call in said obligations and pay them at any time, but 
should be paid as rapidly as possible, and according to 
contract. To enable the government to meet these 
obligations, the mints of the United States should be 
operated to their full capacity in the coinage of standard 
silver dollars, and such other coinage as the business 
interests of the country may require. 

The debate which was called out by the resolutions 
and the remarks of General Weaver in presenting them, 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 1 37 

was characteristic of the petulance and moneyed influ- 
ence which so thoroughly dominates Congress. But 
calm, knowing exactly what he had to say, and saying it 
with the cool intrepidity of a veteran Statesman, he 
could neither be disturbed by the carping insolence of 
our mastered cunning, or by the no less impertinent 
interruptions of self-important egotists, in the pay or 
under the thumb of the bank association. 

The resolutions were submitted to the House, and 
notwithstanding all the vituperation and abuse which 
they had excited in the ranks of the capitalistic oligarchy, 
they received eighty-five votes in their favor, as embody- 
ing the true financial policy of the times, against one 
hundred and seventeen votes in opposition, while ninety 
members shirked from voting, — either too timid to make 
known their views, or too much under the influence of 
the moneyed aristocracy to dare express their sentiments. 

The result of this battle was universally admitted to 
be a masterly triumph for the intrepedity of General 
Weaver, and for the sound and rapidly increasing popu- 
larity of the financial policy of the National Reformers. 

In the speeches of General Weaver there is a direct- 
ness and force which leaves no room for equivocation, 
whether at the Bar, on the floor of Congress, or in those 
popular political gatherings where the freedom and lati- 
tude of generalization is usually indulged in. He is 
honest, earnest and practical in all he says and in all he 
does. 

General Weaver took an early part in organizing the 
party into National unity. It was thought best to take a 
distinct and bold stand on the opening of the Forty-sixth 



I$& OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Congress, and the Reform members in organizing the 
House, selected their own candidate for Speaker in the 
Hon. Hendricks B. Wright, the veteran Statesman, whose 
devotion to the rights of labor, and whose ceaseless 
efforts to secure aid from Congress to help homeless 
heads of families on to homesteads under that most 
beneficient of all acts of Congress — the Homestead Law, 
made him peculiarly fit as the Congressional leader of 
the new party. He received the vote of every member 
elected as a Reformer but one, who turned traitor to 
honor, to his pledge and to his constituency. 

This was the first organization of the party in Con- 
gress, March 18, 1879. It was felt necessary for the 
Greenback members of Congress to organize for political 
purposes, and they proceeded at an early day to form 
themselves into a National Congressional Committee, 
over which the Hon. T. H. Murch, the stone cutter, 
member of Congress, was made Chairman. This Com- 
mittee, co-operating with a committee appointed at the 
Toledo conference of prominent Greenback gentlemen, 
as a National Committee, in a call for a conference of 
representative Greenback men at the City of Washington, 
on the 6th of January, 1880, to agree upon a time and 
place for holding a National Convention, to adopt a plat- 
form and select candidates for President and Vice- 
President of the United States. 

At this conference, General Weaver was not only active 
in organizing and in aiding to fix upon a proper basis of 
representation, but upon such an address as would tend 
to unite the strength of the party in its support. The 
basis of representation was two delegates from each of 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 139 

the congressional districts of the United States, with four 
delegates at large from each State. The time for hold- 
ing the convention, June 9th, 1880, and the place, 
Chicago. 

Every one who attended the Washington conference 
felt that the convention would be a success, but no one 
for a moment dreamed that it would prove to be one of 
the largest, ablest and most enthusiastic national conven- 
tions ever convened in the United States. 

It was well known that a branch of the party under 
the leadership of M. M. Pomeroy Ralph E. Hoyt and 
Hugo Preyer, representing what was known as the Club 
organization, up to that time the most efficient working 
element in the party, had called and held a national con- 
vention at St. Louis, March 4th, 1880. That at such 
convention Stephen D. Dillaye, of New Jersey, had been 
placed in nomination for President, and Mr. B. J. Cham- 
bers, of Texas, as Vice-President ; that it had agreed 
upon a platform of principles and adjourned to Chicago, 
June 9th, to co-operate if possible, with the convention 
called by the congressional committee. Great anxiety 
was felt as to the result of this division, but Mr. Dillaye 
had pre-emptorily declined to be a candidate in oppo- 
sition to the Chicago convention, and on being notified 
of his nomination, wrote a letter advising co-operation 
and unity of action, and accepted his nomination only to 
decline it with the recommendation to all to unite and 
harmonize for victory at Chicago, June 9th, 1880. 

General Weaver was on the committee of conference 
named by the St. Louis convention, and through the 
almost universal desire for union, found but slight dim- 



140 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

culty in agreeing upon the basis which consolidated the 
two organizations and the two conventions into one. 

The convention at Chicago was more than a success ; 
it was a triumphant national expression, of as able and 
as intelligent a body of men as ever convened in national 
convention ; that the reforms demanded by the National 
Greenback Labor party were essential to our liberties, to 
our progress and to the perpetuity of freedom, equality 
and the rights of labor in the United States. 

It was composed of seven hundred and eighty-five 
delegates, who were there to pledge their property, their 
honor, and their lives to the cause of reform. It was dig- 
nified in character, enthusiastic for the just and the good, 
and determined to so organize for political action as to 
secure the confidence and support of the American people. 

So large a body was of necessity forced into delegating 
its labors to committees. The Committee on Resolu- 
tions was composed of one from each State and Territory. 
Its labors were immense and onerous, and were not com- 
pleted until late in the evening of the second day, when 
the Convention was wearied and exhausted by the ex- 
cessive heat of the time. The report of the Committee 
was read, but heard by few. Its acceptance and adoption 
was moved and passed without debate, under the pressure 
of the previous question. That the platform is able 
without being complete, comprehensively clear, yet want- 
ing in definiteness ; silent in some points where it should 
be outspoken ; and timid from excessive caution of being 
thought radical, cannot be denied. The Convention was 
far in advance of the platform, but it was adopted, and 
in the main shadows forth the policy of the party. 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 141 

Immediately on the adoption of the platform, the work 
of selecting a candidate was commenced. There were 
many names prominent before the Convention ; names 
endeared to Greenbackers in all parts of the country : 
and in the fifty-four speeches eulogizing the various can- 
didates, there was a generous enthusiasm to be just, and 
a universal desire to rise above all merely personal con- 
siderations, which was flattering to the patriotism of the 
speakers, as it was to the large-hearted magnanimity of 
the Convention. 

However devoted and generous were the friends of 
Wright, Dillaye, Chase, Butler, Allis and Campbell, yet 
there was an invisible telegraphic fever which pervaded 
the whole body as if it were but one soul, and electrified 
every heart as if the current of expression was but wait- 
ing to break out in one full chorus, the one name that 
above and beyond all others, commanded the enthusiasm, 
the judgment and the confidence of the Convention, and 
that was James B. Weaver, of Iowa. There was no pow- 
er to resist it ; the popular heart of the nation had in- 
scribed it on the banners of the people, and the Conven- 
tion was but the echo from the heart-throbs of the 
reformers of the nation. 

General Weaver was at once notified of his nomination 
and appeared before the convention to accept the great 
trust and thank the convention with words so full of 
manly emotion, as to become the sublimest expression of 
eloquent thanks, as the first glow of the morning sun- 
light filled the earth with beauty, and the hearts of the 
convention with thanksgiving to God for the work they 
had accomplished. 



142 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

The committee selected to notify him formally of his 
nomination, addressed him a note on the 23d of June, 1880, 
to that effect. To this he replied, July 3d, by a letter of 
acceptance so frank, so full of manly truths, so ripe in 
the principles he adopts as his chart for political action, 
as to remedy nearly every omission of the platform, and 
give positive assurance of his devotion to the reforms 
demanded, and of his adherence to the rights of labor, 
humanity and justice. 

As this masterly letter of acceptance will accompany 
this sketch, any attempt to analyze it would weaken its 
force. It speaks for itself. It is the manly deposition of 
the principles of a man who has nothing to conceal, and 
the political gospel of those reforms essential to the wel- 
fare of the people. It is worthy to be classed with the 
best declaration of Jefferson, and is as emphatic in the 
solidity of its logic and the firmness of its views, as the 
nullification message of Andrew Jackson. 

To promote the principles, General Weaver, in com- 
pliance with the recommendation of the Convention 
which nominated him, has started on his way through the 
country to discuss the means of reform to which the 
National Greenback Labor party, with the aid of Divine 
Providence, have undertaken to introduce and enforce in 
the administration of our public affairs. 

Thus far, his receptions have been a series of ovations, 
in which the great heart of the people have welcomed, 
with unmistaken enthusiasm, their nominee as the true 
representative of their rights and of their liberties. 

At his own home, all parties welcomed him with a 
fervor and earnestness none but a great and good man 



LIFE OF JAMES B. WEAVER. 143 

could receive. His neighbors, — of all parties and all 
creeds, who had lived by him from his boyhood, were all 
aglow with Western frankness to do him honor. At New 
York, his frankness, his manly independence, his heroic 
courage, and the dignity with which he had sustained 
himself in his Congressional duels, won him the reluctant 
and yet general commendation of the press. General 
Weaver has opened the campaign in Alabama. The 
telegraph gives us his daily triumph in addressing the 
people. His march to the sea is described as a grand 
ovation. Crowds are forsaking old parties and flocking 
to his standard. His noble bearing, his manly form, his 
sun-lit face, the soul speaking through it as his great 
heart swells with the fire and truth of eloquence, as he 
pleads the cause of the people, electrifies and wins all 
who hear him. 

March on, oh son of the West and representative of 
the people ! With Truth for thy standard, — with the 
rights of labor and the liberties of your race as the 
evangelisms of your duty, the masses will hear you, and 
the nation will listen and bear you onward and upward 
as an apostle of the just, if they do not bear you in 
triumph to the grandest honor any nation or people can 
bestow. 

7 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LIFE OF COL. BENJ. J. CHAMBERS. 

The candidate of the National Greenback-Labor Party 
for Vice-President, is Col. Benjamin J. Chambers, of 
Texas. 




He is in the sixty-second year of his age, erect and 
supple of limb as an Indian, plain and unassuming in 
deportment. He has a fine head, gray-blue eyes, thin 
lips, small mouth, and well-shaped chin, and is prepossess- 



LIFE OF BENJAMIN J. CHAMBERS. 145 

ing in his general appearance. His voice is soft, and his 
utterances fluent and vigorous. 

Col. Chambers was born in Montgomery County, Ken- 
tucky, December 5, 1817. His father was a farmer, and 
emigrated from Virginia among the early settlers in that 
State. His mother's maiden name was Mothershead. 
She was born in Scott County, Kentucky. Her father 
was one of the Revolutionary soldiers through the whole 
war, and was with Washington at the storming of Trenton. 

While at work on his father's farm, he embraced every 
opportunity of improving his mind. He also attended 
the common schools, and in them received a fair educa- 
tion. At the age of twenty he became a volunteer in the 
Texan-Mexican revolution, was commissioned Captain, 
and attached for temporary in the recuiting service, to 
his uncle's Gen. T. J. Chambers', staff, and landed in Texas 
about the 1st of April, 1837. 

In 1839 he made his way to the frontier, and located 
in old Robertson County as a practical surveyor, which 
business he followed until 1847, when he was elected to 
the office of district surveyor of Robertson land district, 
comprising the territory which now includes several 
counties. 

In his business of surveying in these early times, he 
had to penetrate far into the then Indian haunts, and at 
times he experienced many privations and hair breadth 
escapes. 

After his term of office expired, he settled on a farm in 
Navarro County, where he was living; when the late civil 
war broke out. After the close of the war, he removed 
to Johnson County and opened a farm, partly comprising 



146 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

the present site of Cleburne, donating in conjunction 
with Col. W. G. Henderson, one-half of a hundred acres 
of land for site purposes, to which the county seat was 
removed in 1867. He then commenced the business of 
merchandising in connection with his farming, which con- 
tinued about three years. In 1871, he opened a private 
exchange and banking office, in connection with one J. 
W. Brown. This he closed in 1875, and retired to his 
farm where he now lives. 

His home-place is a model farm of several hundred 
acres, adjoining the town of Cleburne on the west. The 
residence is a pretty, modern, two-story brick building, 
containing ten rooms, and spacious halls, elegantly fur- 
nished throughout, without ostentation, and surrounded 
with home comforts. 

The out-buildings are numerous, including three sub- 
stantial ninety feet cattle sheds, and two horse stables of 
the same dimensions, all inclosed and under lock and key. 

The view from the mansard roof of the residence is 
most picturesque. Overlooking the town ten miles to the 
northward, the eye is caught by Caddo Peak — to the east- 
ward lies the cross-timbers extending into the valley ; to 
the westward the ridge of the grand valley-prairie forms 
the horizon, semi-circling from north-east to south-west ; 
and twelve miles to southward lie the flats extending to 
Brazos river. 

During the progress of the war, observing the injustice 
of the exemption laws, and other class legislation of the 
Confederate States, he lost heart in the cause, and although 
he was one of the exempted class, denounced the policy, 
and wrote directly to President Davis about it, predicting, 
if not arrested, the overthrow of the cause. 



Life of benjamin j. chambers. 147 

On the election of Grant in 1868, in an article pub- 
lished in the Cleburne Chronicle of that date, discussing the 
interest-bearing national debt system, he wrote as follows ; 

" Our fathers, as I conceive, made great political pro- 
gress (towards a higher christian civilization) by breaking 
down legitimacy, church supremacy, and all prescriptive 
rights. It remains to be seen whether their children will 
make further progress, by breaking down this monarchial 
scheme of interest-bearing debts. * * * 

I hazard nothing in saying that true and free republican 
institutions cannot be maintained if the people allow 
their law makers to create an interest-bearing national 
debt." 

In 1878 he acquired a State reputation by his "open 
letter" to Senator Coke, and a national reputation by his 
article on "Sacred Coin Contracts," and other writings. 
In 1878, in the face of ridicule, he boldly ran for legisla- 
tive honors on the Greenback ticket, and though not 
elected, he received about three times the number of 
votes then contained in the county organization. 

Col. Chambers has always held decided opinions on 
all political subjects that have been from time to time 
publicly discussed. He voted and acted with the 
Democratic party after the annexation of Texas until its 
departure, as he considers, from the true Democratic 
faith on the finance question at St. Louis in 1876, since 
which time he has been in full sympathy with the Green- 
backers of the Union, and is now an enthusiastic and 
uncompromising member of the Greenback organization. 

He was unanimously nominated as a candidate for 
Vice-President by the convention of the Greenback-Labor 
party, (known as the Pomeroy wing of that party,) which 



I48 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

convened in St. Louis in March last, and was again 
renominated in Chicago as above stated. 

Soon after his nomination at St. Louis, he was waited 
upon one evening at his residence by a large concourse 
of his fellow citizens, without respect to party, headed by 
a band of music and the Cleburne military company, to 
pay their respects and tender their congratulations upon 
the honor conferred upon him by such nomination. 

After being serenaded the Colonel was called out, and 
after tendering thanks for such flattering evidences of 
their friendship and regard, he made quite a strong 
Greenback speech, and closed by inviting them to par- 
take of refreshments which had been prepared. The 
doors were then thrown open and after the company had 
given three rousing cheers for Col. Chambers, as many 
as could flocked into the dwelling and the spacious dining 
hall, where they were introduced to the sweet and lovable 
wife of the Colonel and partook of the repast, while for 
more than an hour, the band, seated on the portico, con- 
tinued to entertain the company with the most enchant- 
ing music. 

Notwithstanding his vehement oppositions to the 
Republican and Democratic Leaders, by strict integrity, 
high sense of honor and moral rectitude, he has main- 
tained the general respect of all classes of his fellow 
citizens. He is a positive man in his political and 
religious views. Utterly regardless of the thing called 
^popularity, but yet by his strictly honorable and upright 
course has justly earned and secured the respect and 
confidence of all those opposed to him in his political 
views. He is a public spirited man, having always 



LIFE OF BENJAMIN J. CHAMBERS. 149 

responded substantially to calls made upon his purse and 
means, in aid of churches, schools and all enterprises of 
a public character. 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 

HELD AT CINCINNATI, JUNE 22D-24-TH, l88o. 

The 2 2d day of June, 1880, was a day long to be 
remembered by the people of Cincinnati. The city was 
literally packed with strangers ; the hotels were crowded 
with excited, tramping men ; and through the streets, 
bands were playing, banners flying, and clubs parading. 

Around Music Hall, where the Convention was to be 
held, a crowd began to gather at 1 1 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and from that hour on it steadily increased ; and 
although at no time before noon a jam, it was because 
the public square opposite afforded ample room for the 
overflow. 

Cincinnati, with characteristic hospitality, had put on 
its very best and brightest face. Even the thousand and 
one chimneys politely held their breath, and the cloud of 
smoke that often darkens the air and sometimes fairly 
smuts the white clouds and eclipses the sun, was rolled 
away. The sky was of a veritable blue, and the sun 
smiled a smile of real Western welcome. There was 
little in the way of decoration besides what had been 
seen before, but all these had a fresh and new look, in 
keeping with the day. The great crowd which filled the 
sidewalk and the streets, were decked out with badges — 



THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 151 

black and gold for Randall, dark blue for Seymour, white 
for Hendricks, blue again for Hancock, white again for 
Bayard, and still more blue and scattered badges for 
Tilden. 

The Exposition Building, in which Music Hall is 
placed, is a handsome brick structure, in the modernized 
Gothic style. The Hall itself is almost square, and 
really an elegant one, being over 100 feet wide, by a 
little less than 200 feet long. The sides, ceiling, 
galleries and all, present one color to the eye ; they are 
entirely of black ash, unpainted, its acoustic properties 
being thus heightened. The first gallery extends over 
the floor on three sides of the Hall, but is well raised, 
and not deep enough to darken any part of the floor. 
The second gallery extends only across the lower end of 
the Hall. Stretched across the facing of the upper 
gallery, was inscribed, on the day of the Convention, in 
gold letters on a scarlet ground, the word "Welcome." 
The band stand was in the first gallery, directly over the 
main entrance. Two large flags, with a portrait of 
Washington where they joined, and drapery in bunting, 
comprised the decorations near the stand. From each 
window on either side of the Hall, from the entrance to 
over the stage, were hung three flags. 

The stage was trimmed with evergreens. Around the 
back of the stage were shields, fastened to the wall. 
Just in front of the desk, and raised a few inches above 
the level of the floor, so as to face the delegates and be 
in full view of them, stood the National coat-of-arms. 
A portrait of Jackson was in the centre of it, and around" 
the outer edge the word " Democracy." The State ban- 
s'* 



152 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

ners were uniform in style and of neat design, the body 
being navy blue silk, the fringe of yellow silk, and the 
inscriptions in gold. Across the main aisle, at the lower 
end of that part of the Hall assigned to delegates, was a 
blue silken banner, with "Ohio Greets the Nation" on 
it, in white letters. The Chairman's desk stood in a 
little thicket of evergreens and flowers. The Hall has a 
sitting capacity of about seven thousand. The back of 
the stage was an amphitheatre of seats, reserved on this 
occasion strictly for ladies, and was filled with bright 
eyes, smiling faces and happy hearts. 

At 12.45 P. M., the Hall being filled and the delegates 
in their seats, Senator Barnum, Chairman of the Nation- 
al Committee, called the Convention to order, and prayer 
was offered by the Rev. Charles W. Wendte, of the 
Unitarian Church. Mr. Barnum then, by direction of 
the National Committee, presented the name of Judge 
George Hoadley, of Ohio, for temporary Chairman. 
This was agreed to, and Wm. S. Scott and H. D. Mc 
Enery were appointed to conduct Judge Hoadley to the 
Chair, which they did amid great applause. 

Judge Hoadley, upon taking the Chair, delivered quite 
a lengthy address, thanking the Convention for the great 
confidence reposed in him, pledging himself to act with 
the strictest impartiality in the exercise of the power 
thus conferred, during the brief period committed to 
him ; and declared early in his speech that the Demo- 
cracy there assembled were not Democrats of Congres- 
sional Districts, but representatives of indestructible, 
united States. 

He then made reference to the duties of the convention 



THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 153 

in connection with the formation of the platform, and 
warned the delegates that it was their province not to 
make a creed or invent a code of principles, but to pro- 
mulgate those which have long been recognized as funda- 
mental in the Democratic party. He referred to the 
convention of 1876, at St. Louis, and claimed that 
Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks were elected 
President and Vice-President of the United States, as 
fairly as George Washington or James Monroe. He 
charged fraud upon the Republican party ; of its infidelity 
to Republican principles ; of its willingness to sacrifice 
the right of popular election, rather than to relax its 
hold upon power. He said if the Democratic party were 
fairly beaten in the coming election they would submit, 
but if successful, no cunning device of dishonest arbitra- 
tion would deprive them of their rights. He referred to 
the Third Term movement ; said it had been merely 
postponed, not averted, and the only way to avert it 
was by making powerless the only party in which it was 
possible. He advised vigilance, — eternal vigilance, as 
the price and protector of liberty. 

After Judge Hoadley's speech, the customary prelimin- 
ary business of the Convention proceeded. F. O. Prince, 
of Massachusetts, was made temporary Secretary, with 
several assistants. Other officers were also appointed. 

Mr. Beebe, of New York, offered a resolution, adopt- 
ing the rules of the last National Convention for the 
government of this, until it should be otherwise ordered, 
which was adopted. Mr. Martin, of Delaware, moved a 
call of the roll for Committees on Permanent Organiza- 
tion, on Credentials, and on Resolutions. This was 
adopted, and the roll call went on. 



154 °UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

At the call for New York, John Kelly, of New York 
City, who was seated behind the delegates, arose and 
claimed to be recognized. There was great confusion 
for a time, but Mr. Kelly held his ground with nerve, and 
at each lull in the excitement and noise renewed his 
claim for recognition ; but the Chairman called upon the 
Sergeant-at-Arms to restore order, and in an excited 
voice said : " The Chair will recognize no one but dele- 
gates on this floor. The roll call will proceed." The 
call then went on to the end without interruption, and 
the committees were named. After several resolutions 
of minor importance had been adopted, the Convention, 
after a session of an hour and twenty minutes, adjourned 
for the day. 

On the 23d day of June, at 10.40 A. M., the Conven- 
tion was again called to order. The great Hall was 
filled to overflowing. They came by thousands, swarmed 
upon the platform, filled every nook and corner, and even 
the ladies' amphitheatre was even more picturesque than 
the day previous. There was a large addition to their 
number, and a great multiplication of fluttering ribbons 
and graceful fans. 

There were also a whole regiment of reporters and 
correspondents. Two hundred of them were in a broad 
zone crossing the Hall in front of the stage, fifty or more 
clustered on the stage, and in each of the galleries look- 
ing down on the stage, one or two hundred more. 
Under each of the galleries, the rival telegraph compan- 
ies had their offices, and back of them, scores of opera- 
tors clicking the news away the instant a vote was cast 
or a speech made. 



THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 155 

After the Convention was called to order, and prayer 
offered, the report of the Committee on Organization 
was presented and read, announcing ex-Senator John W. 
Stevenson, of Kentucky, permanent Chairman, which 
was greeted with applause. 

The majority report of the Committee on Credentials 
was then presented. It advised that both delegations from 
Massachusetts be seated, and that the sitting delegates 
from the Twenty-sixth District of Pennsylvania and from 
the State of New York, be allowed to retain their places. 
A minority report was read by Mr. Carroll, of Kansas, 
advising that Tammany Hall be allowed to have twenty 
seats. 

Over the two reports, occurred an exciting struggle, 
one hour being allowed for the discussion. John Kelly, 
of New York, was called for by the Chairman to present 
the case of the Tammany contestants. Mr. Kelly was 
not in the Hall, and Mr George W. Miller, of Albany, 
took the platform in his behalf, amid applause. He 
made an earnest speech. Amasa J. Parker also spoke 
for the contestants. Ex-Governor Hubbard, of Texas, 
Colonel Fellows, of Nov.- York, Mr. Peckham, Mr. West- 
brook and Mr. Young, supported the majority report. 

A motion to substitute the minority for the majority 
report was lost, by a vote of 205^ to 457. The delegates 
from New York were excused from voting on the motion, 
at their own request. The majority report was then 
adopted, but a resolution was offered and unanimously 
approved, inviting the rejected contestants to seats on 
the floor during the Convention. 

There was some delay in effecting the permanent 



156 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

organization. Ex-Senator Stevenson did not seem to be 
in the Hall, when the Committee was sent to escort him 
to the Chair : a long pause ensued, during which 
time the band regaled the assemblage with music. When 
Mr. Stevenson did arrive and appeared upon the plat- 
form, he was greeted with the familiar strains of " Hail 
to the Chief," after which he returned thanks to the 
Convention for the honor conferred upon him personally, 
and upon his State by his election as permanent Presi- 
dent of the Convention. Early in his speech he referred 
to the Democratic Convention held at Cincinnati twenty- 
four years ago, when, he said, the Democratic party 
named the last Democratic candidates who were elected 
and who took their seats, and spoke of it as a favorable 
omen that the Democracy of the Nation had once more 
met in Cincinnati. He declared that Tilden and Hen- 
dricks had been elected, but, by fraud, were excluded 
from their offices. That this great wrong should be 
resented, and they would be recreant to their duty if 
they did not do it. 

As the Committee on Resolutions were not prepared 
to report, on motion of Mr. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, 
it was ordered that the roll of States be called, that can- 
didates for the Presidency might be put in nomination. 
California was the first State to respond, and presented 
the name of Judge Field, who was warmly eulogized by 
Mr. McElrath. This nomination was seconded by Col- 
orado. Delaware presented the name of Senator 
Bayard through one of its delegates — George Gray — who 
was a polished speaker, and who paid a glowing tribute 
to Senator Bayard's personal and political character. 



NOMINATING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES. 157 

Illinois, through ex-Congressman Samuel S. Marshall, put 
in nomination Col. Morrison. Indiana selected Senator 
Daniel W. Voorhees to present the name of ex-Senator 
Hendricks, which he did in a forcible and effective man- 
ner. When Ohio was called, Mr. McSweeny, who is one 
of the most popular stump-speakers of the West, took the 
platform, and made a lengthy speech in favor of Senator 
Thurman, whose name he presented. Hon. Daniel 
Dougherty, of Philadelphia, the polished and eloquent 
orator, took the platform when Pennsylvania was called, 
and presented the name of General Hancock, and 
eulogized him in the warmest terms. Ex-Governor 
Hubbard, of Texas, when that State was called, seconded 
the nomination of Gen. Hancock. 

At a quarter before 5 o'clock, the last of the States 
had been called, but it was noticeable that some of the 
most prominent candidates had not been nominated at 
all. Among these were Payne, Randall, Jewett, Parker 
and Randolph. 

Judge Hoadley then moved that the Convention ad- 
journ until the next morning ; but upon calling the roll, 
the Convention refused to adjourn, the vote standing 
317^ in favor and 395-3- against an adjournment. 

Thereupon, one ballot was taken, resulting as follows : 



Whole number of votes, 


7*8* 


Necessary to a choice, . 


486 


Hancock, . 


171 


Bayard, .... 


i5 2 i 


Field, 


65 


Morrison, 


62 



i5« 



our presidential candidates. 



492 

8i 

38 

10 

8 



Hendricks, 

Thurman, 

Payne, 

Tilden, . 

Ewing, 

Seymour, 

Scattering, . . 22 

An adjournment was then ordered. 

On Thursday, the 24th of June, the Convention was 
called to order, at 10.30, A. M., and after the preliminary 
proceedings, Mr. Peckham, of New York, took the plat- 
form, and stated that Mr. Tilden renounced all claims to 
the nomination, and that the New York delegates would 
support Mr. Randall. 

The Convention then proceeded to the balloting, with 
the following result : 

Whole number of votes, 736 

Necessary to a choice, . 491 

Hancock, . . . 319 

Randall, . . . 129-J 

Bayard, . . . 113 

Field, . 6 5 i 

Thurman, ... 50 

Hendricks, . . 31 

English, . . . 19 

Tilden, ... 6 

Scattering, . . 3 

Before the vote was announced officially, Wisconsin 
asked permission to change, and cast her 20 votes for 
Hancock. The Convention was instantly in a state of 



THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. 



159 



great excitement and confusion. New Jersey at once 
changed her votes to Hancock. Pennsylvania changed, 
and cast her vote for him also. The excitement was now 
intense. The Hancock banner was waving and advanc- 
ing to the front. The band commenced playing " Dixie " 
and "Hail to the Chief," and the delegates were shouting 
and cheering. Smith Weed finally announced that New 
York changed her 70 votes to Hancock. Other States 
followed ; and when Ohio changed to Hancock, he had 
secured two-thirds of the Convention, and the nomination. 

The result was at last announced, when Mr. Mack, of 
Indiana, moved to make the nomination unanimous. 
Speaker Randall and Senator Wallace appeared together 
on the platform and seconded the motion, and it was 
made unanimous amid great cheering. 

W. H. English, of Indiana, was then nominated for 
Vice-President by acclamation, and after the Platform 
had been unanimously adopted, the Convention ad- 
journed, sine die. 

The Platform adopted is as follows : 

PLATFORM. 

The Democrats of the United States, in convention 
assembled, declare : 

First — We pledge ourselves anew to the constitutional 
doctrines and traditions of the Democratic party as illus- 
trated by the teaching and example of a long line of 
Democratic statesmen and patriots and embodied in the 
platform of the last National convention of the party. 

Second — Opposition to centralizationism, and to that 
dangerous spirit of encroachment which tends to consoli- 
date the powers of all the departments in one and thus 
to create, whatever be the form of government, a real 



l6o OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

despotism. No sumptuary laws ; separation of Church 
and State for the good of each ; common schools fostered 
and protected. 

Third — Home rule, honest money, consisting of gold 
and silver and paper convertible to coin on demand. 
The strict maintenance of the public faith, State and 
national, and a tariff for revenue only. 

Fourth — The subordination of the military to the civil 
power, and a general and thorough reform of the civil 
service. 

Fifth — The right of a free ballot is the right preserva- 
tive of all rights, and must and shall be maintained in 
every part of the United States. 

Sixth — The existing administration is the representa- 
tive of conspiracy only, and its claim of right to surround 
the ballot boxes with troops and deputy marshals to 
intimidate and obstruct the electors, and the unprece- 
dented use of the veto to maintain its corrupt and des- 
potic power, insults the people and imperils their 
institutions. 

Seventh — The great fraud of 1876-77, by which, upon 
a false count of the electoral votes of two States, the 
candidate defeated at the polls, was declared President, 
and for the first time in American history the will of the 
people was set aside under a threat of military violence, 
struck a deadly blow at our system of representative 
government. The Democratic party, to preserve the 
country from the horrors of a civil war, submitted for a 
time in firm and patriotic faith that the people would 
punish this crime in 1880. This issue precedes and 
dwarfs every other. It imposes a more sacred duty upon 
the people of the Union than was ever addressed to the 
conscience of a nation of free men. 

Eighth — We execrate the course of this administration 
in making places in the civil service a reward for political 
crime, and demand a reform by statute which shall make 
it forever impossible for the defeated candidate to bribe 



THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. l6l 

his way to the seat of a usurper by billeting villains upon 
the people. 

Ninth — The resolution of Samuel J. Tilden not again 
to be a candidate for the exalted place to which he was 
elected by a majority of countrymen, and from which he 
was excluded by the leaders of the Republican party, is 
received by the Democrats of the United States with 
sensibility, and they declare their confidence in his wis- 
dom, patriotism and integrity, unshaken by the assaults 
of a common enemy, and they further assure him that he 
is followed into the retirement he has chosen for himself 
by the sympathy and respect of his fellow citizens, who 
regard him as one who, by elevating the standard of pub- 
lic morality, and adorning and purifying the public ser- 
vice, merits the lasting gratitude of his country and his 
party. 

Tenth — Free ships and a living chance for American 
commerce on the seas and on the land. No discrimina- 
tion in favor of transportation lines, corporations or 
monopolies. 

Eleventh — Amendment of the Burlingame treaty. No 
more Chinese immigration, except for travel, education 
and foreign commerce, and therein carefully guarded. 

Twelfth — Public money and public credit for public 
purposes solely, and the public land for actual settlers. 

Thirteenth — The Democratic party is the friend of 
labor and the laboring man, and pledges itself to protect 
him alike against the cormorants and the commune. 

Fourteenth — We congratulate the country on the honesty 
and thrift of a Democratic Congress which has reduced 
the public expenditure $40,000,000 a year ; upon the 
continuation of prosperity at home and the national 
honor abroad, and above all, upon the promise of such a 
change in the administration of the government as shall 
insure us genuine and lasting reform in every department 
of the public service. 



162 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

The Committee appointed by the Convention to in- 
form Gen. Hancock of his nomination, visited Governor's 
Island — being the head-quarters of the General — and 
were formally presented to him. After the object of 
their visit had been announced, the written address of 
the Committee, notifying him of his nomination, was read 
and presented to him, with a copy of the Platform, by 
ex-Senator Stevenson, of Kentucky, to which the General 
briefly replied, accepting the nomination with thanks for 
the honor, and stating that he would send them a written 
acceptance. The Committee then, in the same manner, 
notified W. H. English, who was also present, of his 
nomination, who briefly replied, accepting the same. 

The following letter was subsequently received by the 
Committee from Gen. Hancock : 

letter of acceptance. 

Governor's Island, New York City, 

July 29, 1880. 

Gentlemen ; I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt of your letter of July 13, 1880, apprising me for- 
mally of my nomination to the office of President of the 
United States, by the " National Democratic Convention " 
lately assembled in Cincinnati. I accept the nomina- 
tion with grateful appreciation of the confidence reposed 
in me. 

The principles enunciated by the Convention are those 
I have cherished in the past, and shall endeavor to main- 
tain in the future. 

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend- 
ments to the Constitution of the United States, embody- 
ing the results of the war for the Union, are inviolable. 

If called to the Presidency, I should deem it my duty 



W. S. HANCOCK'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 163 

to resist with all of my power any attempt to impair or 
evade the full force and effect of the Constitution, which, 
in every article, section and amendment, is the supreme 
law of the land. The Constitution forms the basis of 
the Government of the United States. The powers 
granted by it to the legislative, executive and judicial 
departments define and limit the authority of the general 
Government ; powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 
belong to the States respectively, or to the people. The 
General and State Governments, each acting in its own 
sphere without trenching upon the lawful jurisdiction of 
the other, constitute the Union. This Union, compris- 
ing a general Government with general powers, and State 
Governments with State powers for purposes local to the 
States, is a polity, the foundations of which were laid in 
the profoundest wisdom. 

This is the Union our fathers made, and which has 
been so respected abroad and so beneficent at home. 
Tried by blood and fire, it stands to-day a model form of 
free popular government — a political system which, rightly 
administered, has been, and will continue to be, the ad- 
miration of the world. May we not say, nearly in the 
words of Washington : The unity of government which 
constitutes us one people is justly dear to us ; it is the 
main pillar in the edifice of our real independence, the 
support of our peace, safety, and prosperity, and of that 
liberty we so highly prize and intend at every hazard to 
preserve. 

But no form of government however carefully devised, 
no principles however sound, will protect the rights of 
the people, unless administration is faithful and efficient. 
It is a vital principle in our system that neither fraud nor 
force must be allowed to subvert the rights of the people. 
When fraud, violence or incompetence controls, the no- 
blest constitutions and wisest laws are useless. The 
bayonet is not a fit instrument for collecting the votes of 



164 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

freemen. It is only by a full vote, free ballot, and fair 
count that the people can rule in fact, as required by the 
theory of our government. Take this foundation away 
and the whole structure falls. 

Public office is a trust, not a bounty bestowed upon 
the holder ; no incompetent or dishonest persons should 
ever be intrusted with it, or if appointed, they should be 
promptly ejected. The basis of a substantial, practical 
civil service reform must first be established by the peo- 
ple in filling the elective offices ; if they fix a high stand- 
ard of qualifications for office, and sternly reject the 
corrupt and incompetent, the result will be decisive in 
governing the action of the servants whom they intrust 
with appointing power. 

The war for the Union was successfully closed more 
than fifteen years ago. All classes of our people must 
share alike in the blessings of the Union, and are 
equally concerned in its perpetuity, and in the proper 
administration of public affairs. We are in a state of 
profound peace. Henceforth let it be our purpose to 
cultivate sentiments of friendship, and not of animosity, 
among our fellow citizens. Our material interests, varied 
and progressive, demand our constant and united efforts. 
A sedulous and scrupulous care of the public credit, 
together with a wise and economical management of our 
governmental expenditures, should be maintained in order 
that labor may be lightly burdened, and that all persons 
may be protected in their rights to the fruits of their own 
industry. The time has come to enjoy the substantial 
benefits of reconciliation. As one people we have com- 
mon interests. Let us encourage the harmony and gen- 
erous rivalry among our own industries which will revive 
our languishing merchant marine, extend our commerce 
with foreign nations, assist our merchants, manufacturers 
and producers to develop our vast national resources, and 
increase the prosperity and happiness of our people. 

If elected I shall, with the Divine favor, labor with 



w. s. Hancock's letter of acceptance. 165 

what ability I possess to discharge my duties with fidelity, 
according to my convictions, and shall take care to pro- 
tect and defend the Union, and to see that the laws be 
faithfully and equally executed in all parts of the country 
alike. I will assume the responsibility, fully sensible of 
the fact that to administer rightly the functions of gov- 
ernment is to discharge the most sacred duty that can 
devolve upon an American citizen. 

I am, very respectfully, yours, 

Winfield S. Hancock. 

To the Hon. John W. Stevenson, President of the Con- 
vention j the Hon. John P. Stockton, Chairman, and 
others of the Committee of the National Democratic 
Convention. 



CHAPTER X. 
LIFE AND SERVICES OF GEN. W. S. HANCOCK. 

BY HENRY HILL, ESQ. 

Winfield Scott Hancock was born in the city of Phila- 
delphia, (not, as stated by many of his biographers, in 
Norristown,) on the 14th day of February, ("St. Valen- 
tine's Day,") 1824, and is therefore, now fifty-six years of 
age or in his fifty-seventh year. 

His father, Benjamin F. Hancock, a lawyer of ability 
and probity, removed to Norristown in the year 1828, and 
there practised his profession till his death in 1867, com- 
manding, for nearly four decades, the fullest confidence 
and profoundest respect of all who knew him. 

His mother, Elizabeth Hancock, a lady of education 
and refinement, connected with the oldest families of 
Pennsylvania, died in the fullness of years at Norristown, 
in 1878. 

He can pride himself that his blood on both sides is 
revolutionary and entirely heroic. During the French 
and Indian war before the revolution, the house of one 
of his mother's ancestors was attacked b y Indians when 
all were away but the women of the household. With 
unyielding courage they barricaded themselves in the 
attic and with hatchets chopped the hands and arms of 
the savages as they attempted to climb up through the 
scuttle, until they fled, only to renew the attack in a more 





%-tf 



il^^Slffl^l fffx, / 




GEN. WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 



LIFE OF WIXFIELD 5. HANCOCK. 167 

horrible and barbarous form by firing the house. But 
the heroic defence was adequate ; assistance arrived, the 
savages were driven off, the flames were extinguished and 
the family save'!. His grandfather on his father's side 
ildier. He was captured by the British, claimed 
as a British subject, and suffered a long incarceration in 
Dartmoor pris« n, Englai e penalty of his loyalty 

to Ameri< l I 'her and his grandfather 

on his mother's side served under Washington. The 
latter enlisted at the f fifteen, and returned five 

times to the fiel le in that pro- 

tracted and glorio H isted in escorting 

from Taney town, I., I \ lie) Forge, Burgoyne's pris- 
onei , captui His her, Benjamin F. 

II inco< k, at the age of fifteen, joined the troops on the 
banks of the Delaware, when Philadelphia was threatened 
by the British in i 

Gen. H ncock 1 ther, H illary I [anco< k, a 

prominent lawyer in Minn . Minnesota; al 

youi :. fohn Hancock, engaged in rail: 

busine 1 his brother 

served in the army of th< Potoi I the three were 

the only i hildren of Benjami : 11 lizabeth I [am o< k. 

Before pursuing the ] . of Winfield S. 

Hancock, let us finish the family record. In [850, while 
: the rank of I Lieutenant, and but twenty- 

he met, v. < • mored of, addre 
and v ; ted in marriage by his present wife, then 

the a< < omplished M iss Aim 1 1 11, dai Mr. 

Samuel Russell, a prominent merchant of St. Louis. 
The union was blessed with two children, a son and a 



l68 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

daughter. The son has arrived at manhood, is married, 
had two children, until one, a bright and beautiful boy, 
bearing his grandfather's name, died recently at Govern- 
or's Island, while on a visit to the General. The daugh- 
ter, a beautiful and accomplished girl, went to a premature 
grave some three years ago, leaving a void in the hearts 
of her parents that nothing can ever fill. 

It was at Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylva- 
nia, beautifully situated on the Schuylkill River, not far 
from the historic city of Philadelphia, and in sight of 
Valley Forge, that spot made forever sacred in the 
memories of all Americans, by the sufferings of their fore- 
fathers during that awful winter, when the light of liberty 
on this continent, and throughout the world, seemed so 
nearly extinguished, perhaps forever, that young Hancock 
passed his boyhood, inhaling with the pure atmosphere, 
drinking in with the delightful scenery, imbibing with its 
historic traditions, that heroic patriotism which was to 
render such signal service in days to come. He was a 
pupil of the Norristown academy. He was thoughtful, 
studious, proficient in all his studies and a superior natu- 
ral elocutionist. At the age of fifteen the citizens con- 
ferred upon him the honor of reading the Declaration of 
Independence at the annual celebration, and with 
trumpet tones he emphasized the splendid sentences of 
that immortal document. 

Thus, all unconsciously, the tall, blue eyed, fair haired 
boy, his veins swelling with martial blood, was growing 
into his stature and his character. Bearing the great 
name of Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of 
American Independence, and also that of the most majes- 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 1 69 

tic figure of the time — the idol of the people, the 
hero of Lundy's Lane — Winfield Scott, the responsibilty 
expressed in the French maxim ?ioblesse oblige descended 
upon his sinewy shoulders without dismaying his stout 
heart. 

Of such antecedents come the highest grade of heroes. 
Creditable as it may be to rise from obscure and even 
vulgar origin, there is no such incentive to noble endeavor 
as well founded pride of birth — no such stimulant to true 
and lofty ambition, as an illustrious name bequeathed by 
honored ancestors, to be tarnished or kept bright by its 
possessor. 

HE COMMENCES HIS MILITARY CAREER. 

The boy is said to be the father of the man, and as if 
to verify this apothegm, young Hancock at the age of 1 2 
began his military career by organizing and commanding 
a boy's soldier company, whose drills, reviews, parades, 
reconnoissances and sham battles, are remembered by 
the older citizens cf Norristown to this day. By his 
conduct on these occasions, as well as his manly deport- 
ment, graceful figure and picturesque beauty, he attracted 
the attention of Hon. Joseph Fornance, the Democratic 
member of Congress from that district. Mr. Fornance 
was a friend of Winfield's father, who was also a Demo- 
crat, and through his influence it was not difficult to 
obtain for the ambitious boy an entrance as cadet at the 
West Point Military Academy. This was in 1840, and 
when he was 16 years of age. It is therefore forty years 
ago that he took the oath which consecrated his life to 
the nation that assumed the charge of his education. 



170 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

During all these years he has never wearied in the per- 
formance of his duty in peace or in war. He has never 
faltered when it took him up to the cannon's mouth, and 
has never sought other and more profitable pursuits when 

" Stern alarums changed to merry meetings," 
"And dreadful marches to delightful measures." 

His life has been sacredly devoted to his country, and by 
practical participation he has become proficient in every 
branch of military science. He is no holiday soldier, 
this magnificent chieftain, who has stood in the iron hail 
of battle from San Antonio and Cherubusco to Gettys- 
burgh and Spottsylvania. He is no political general, this 
matchless hero, who has stepped upon every round of 
the ladder of promotion from the rank of Second Lieu- 
tenant to that of Senior Major-General of the regular 
army ; and never asked and never received a promotion 
except for "gallant and meritorious conduct " on the 
battle field. 

At West Point, with Hancock, were many young men. 
who like him have since earned renown ; among them 
Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, John F. Reynolds, 
Burnside, Reno, Franklin, Rosencrazs, Buell, Pope, Au- 
gur, Stoneman, Doubleday, Ingalls, Granger and Couch, 
as well as many Southern men who in the rebellion fol- 
lowed the Confederate standard with mistaken zeal but 
with sublimest courage ; among them Longstreet, " Stone- 
wall " Jackson, and A. P. and D. H. Hill. 

Graduating in 1844, young Hancock was appointed 
Brevet Second-Lieutenant in the 6th United States 
Infantry. In 1846, being then twenty-two years of age, 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 171 

he was commissioned full Second-Lieutenant in the same 
regiment. He was at once sent into the Red River 
region of the South-west, to protect the settlers from 
attacks of the Indians, but was speedly transferred to 
Mexico, where, under General Scott, — the great soldier 
whose name he bore, — he participated in the glorious 
victories of San Antonio, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, 
Contreras, Chapultepec, and in the assault and capture 
of the City of Mexico. Here also fought Jefferson 
Davis, John A. Quitman and others of the subsequent 
Confederate leaders, side by side with Hancock for the 
stars and stripes. Promotion was not as rapid then as 
during the Rebellion ; and indeed the regular army has 
never been the field of rapid advancement. Instances 
were not rare in 1861-2, and during the early years of 
war for the Union, when parties entirely unskilled in the 
art of war commenced as coldnels / and became major- 
generals in a few months, after a quasi participation in 
one or two skirmishes, which were called battles in their 
dispatches, resigning then to enter upon political careers. 
Hancock, at the end of the Mexican War, with all its 
tremendous engagements, found himself only a First 
Lieutenant. But he had been splendidly recognized and 
mentioned by name in the dispatches, and he wore his 
shoulder-strap with a justifiable pride that made it worth 
more to him than the shiny but unworthily gained 
stars of many a general, for he had won the little 
trophy by " gallant and meritorious conduct in the bat- 
tles of Contreras and Cherubusco," and under the 
immediate eye of his patronymic saint. And it was not 
the glory of a general's uniform which attracted the 
lovely girl who was to be his future wife. The daugh- 



172 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

ter of the great merchant gave her heart as well as her 
hand, to the young Lieutenant whose fortune was yet to 
be gained. Doubtless she was as proud as he, of that 
little shoulder-strap, and of the manner in which it had 
been acquired. 

In the fall of 1855 he was made Captain and assistant 
Quartermaster, and accompanied General Harney in the 
Florida expedition against the Indians. Subsequently he 
was transferred to Kansas and Nebraska, during the 
political troubles which attended the early settlement of 
those states then territories. Then with Harney to Utah. 
He rode overland to California long before the days of the 
Pacific railroad, and was stationed in California for several 
years, patiently bearing all this time the rank of Captain. 
But large trees grow slowly. All this varied experience 
in different parts of his native land was qualifying him 
for great work to be done by him in the fullness of time. 
He knew it not, but he knew he had consecrated his life 
to his country ; and in all the demoralizing quiet of 
absolute peace, no temptation came to lure him from his 
adopted profession. With a philosophic mind, it is not 
improbable that he apprehended, if he did not foresee, 
that the time must come when a collision would occur 
between the North and the South. Self-possession has 
been said to be the prompt action of one who has antici- 
pated an emergency, and decided beforehand upon the 
course to be pursued. Such as a competent sea captain 
in case of wreck, or a superior military commander in 
case of surprise. However this may be, when the 
catastrophe came and Sumpter was fired upon, and the 
South seceded, Hancock never for an instant wavered in 
his devotion to the Union. 



CHAPTER XI. 
LIFE OF GEN. W. S. HANCOCK.— Continued. 

THE GREAT REBELLION. 

" The ancestral buckler calls 
Self clanging from the walls." 

When the first premonitions of civil war began to 
alarm the Nation in i860, Hancock was stationed at Los 
Angelos, in southern California. Here, with the rank of 
Captain, he was attending to the important duties of the 
Quartermaster's department. There is no lovelier region 
on the earth. The climate is like that of Italy. The 
products are semi-tropical. The corn and the wheat of 
the North blend on the same plantation with the figs, and 
the oranges, and the sugar-cane of the South ; the apple 
and the lemon grow side by side. Snow-clad mountains 
skirt the enchanted valley on the east, and the silver 
surf of the Pacific ocean adorns it on the west, like the 
rich fringe of a costly mantle. 

The population was mostly from the South. The 
almost unanimous sentiment was for secession. Never 
was there a soil or climate better adapted for the recep- 
tion of what the sons of chivalry considered the Patriar- 
chal Institution of Slavery. Excitement ran high. With 
those hot-headed men, to differ was to incur the deadliest 
enmity. Social influences were all in one scale, and 
that the Southern. 



174 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

Nothing would be easier than for the young officer to 
drift with the tide. Every consideration of personal 
ease and convenience dictated, at least, acquiescence, 
while illustrious examples were before his very eyes of 
army officers with higher rank than he could ever expect 
to hold, who had openly cast their fortunes with the rebel 
cause. Nearly twenty years he had patiently waited 
for his shoulder-straps. Now stars were within his 
instant grasp, for the South wanted experienced officers. 
There was no railroad or telegraph in those days between 
the Atlantic and Pacific States, and the news was con- 
veyed so slowly that the election of Lincoln, in Novem- 
ber, was not known at Los Angelos till Christmas. Let 
all who know how hard it is to stand alone in a tempest 
of public opinion, realize the position of Hancock in 
those trying days. To increase the embarrassment of a 
man who could be embarrassed, the administration of 
Lincoln was Republican, and Hancock had always been 
a Democrat, as well as his father before him, and the 
doctrine of State Rights had been a cardinal one with 
the leaders of that party. The great temptations which 
swept thousands into the vortex of disunion, confronted 
him. Even the great Republican leader — Horace Greeley 
— had said that a State could not be coerced, and coun- 
selled submission to the demands of the South. What 
easier for him than to take counsel of these older men, 
and at least remain inactive. What so easy as to yield to 
the enervating influences of the balmy atmosphere of 
Los Angelos and Santa Barbara. 

But no, he decided with instant alacrity to stand by 
the Union which, so many years before, when a boy at 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 175 

West Point, he had sworn to defend. There was no 
hesitation in his loyalty. True as the needle to the pole 
— steadfast as the sun in the heavens — was Hancock to 
the traditions of his birth, to the lessons of his youth. 
He made no concealment of his views. While many a 
northern man at home and surrounded by northern in- 
fluences was hesitating and taking counsel of his fears or 
interests, Hancock appeared upon the rostrum, and 
braving public opinion, in addresses of thrilling eloquence 
and burning patriotism, turned back the tide, exercising, 
more than any other one man, that influence which pre- 
vented the breaking out of civil war on the Pacific slope. 
On the 4th of July, 1S61, as if the spirit of old John 
Hancock of Massachusetts Bay hovered over the scene 
and inspired his utterances, he spoke at a union meeting 
in Los Angelos, as follows : 

"We have met to commemorate that day of all among 
Americans, the most hallowed and cherished of the na- 
tional memories — the 4th of July, 1776 ; that day when 
the reign of tyrants in the colonies of America ceased, 
and the reign of reason, of fraternity, and of equal politi- 
cal rights began. 

Who on this continent does not know of the great 
event which transpired on that day, the anniversary of 
which we are met here to celebrate, and who among us 
would wish to see the day approach when that occasion 
should cease to be commemorated ? 

Can any one hear of the great events of that contest 
without wishing that his ancestors had been personally 
engaged in them ? 

Who can forget the names of Lexington, c f Monmouth, 
of Brandywine and Yorktown, and who, that is so, can 
regret that he is a descendant of those who fought there 
for the liberties we now enjoy ? And what flag is that we 



176 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

now look to as the banner that carried us through the 
great contest, and was honored by the gallant deeds of 
its defenders? The star spangled banner of America, 
then embracing thirteen pale stars, representing that 
number of oppressed colonies. Now, thirty-four bright 
planets, representing that number of great States. To be 
sure, clouds intervene between us and eleven of that 
number, but we will trust that those clouds may soon be 
dispelled and that those great stars in the southern con- 
stellation may shine forth again with even greater splen- 
dor than before. 

Let us believe, at least let us trust, that our brothers 
there do not wish to separate themselves permanently 
from the common memories which have so long bound us 
together, but that when reason returns and resumes her 
sway they will prefer the brighter page of history, which 
our mutual deeds have inscribed upon the tablets of time, 
to that of the uncertain future of a new confederation, 
which, alas, to them may prove illusory and unsatisfac- 
tory. 

Let them return to us. We will welcome them as 
brothers who have been estranged, but have come back. 
We have an interest in the battle-fields of the Revolution 
in those States not second to their own. Our forefathers 
fought there side by side with theirs. Can they, if they 
would, throw aside their rights to the memories of the 
great fields on our soil on which their ancestors won 
renown ? No, they cannot ! God forbid that they should 
desire it. So, to those who, regardless of these sacred 
memories, insist on sundering this union of States, let us 
who only wish our birth-right preserved to us, and whose 
desire it is to still be citizens of the great country that 
gave us birth, and to live under that flag which has 
gained for us the glory we boast of, say this day to those 
among us who feel aggrieved, your rights we will respect ; 
your wrongs we will assist you to redress ; but the govern- 
ment resulting front the union of these States is a priceless 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 177 

heritage that we intend to preserve and defend to the last 
extremity." 

Unable to obtain definite intelligence but burning for 
active participation in the events which he knew must be 
pending, he made a double application for appointment 
to active service in the field ; one to Governor Curtin of 
his native State, Pennsylvania, the other to General 
Scott, the head of the regular army. By the latter, who 
well knew his sterling loyalty and impetuous gallantry, lie 
was summoned at once to Washington, where his un- 
blemished record and martial bearing so impressed Presi- 
dent Lincoln that he was at once commissioned Briga- 
dier-General of Volunteers, his first command being of 
four magnificent regiments, one from Pennsylvania one 
from New York, one from Vermont and one from Maine. 
Gen. Scott had then retired and this appointment was 
made on the formal recommendation of General McClel- 
lan who had become the Commander-in-Chief. 

IN THE FIELD. 

Having perfected the discipline of his new brigade, 
and infused into its ranks the esprit which his magnetism 
always inspired, till officers and men had almost acquired 
the steadiness and reliability of veterans, it is not singu- 
lar that they were soon heard from in a light which will 
blaze forever on the pages of their country's history. 

The campaign of the Peninsula commenced in April, 
1862, at Yorktown. Here, for many days, the battle 
raged furiously against the strong intrenchments of the 
rebels, Hancock's Brigade covering itself with honor. On 
the 3d of May the enemy fell back from its lines. This 



178 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

movement was made under cover of the night, and was 
not discovered till the morning of May 4th. Pursuit 
was instantly made by the entire Union army. The first 
stand made by the retreating foe was at Williamsburgh, 
where the rebels had perfected another line of fortifica- 
tions, reaching from the York river nearly across to the 
James. A powerful fort near Williamsburgh, mounted 
with heavy guns, constituted its central defense. The 
rest was a series of strong redoubts along and behind a 
tributary of the York river and its contiguous ravines. 
The position seemed almost impregnable. 

THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURGH " HANCOCK WAS 

SUPERB " 

Here the writer adopts an account so graphic, and 
which has come into his hands with such endorsement 
of its correctness, as to render its use without curtailment 
imperative. 

Here the enemy made his stand, and by these works 
the Union Army, in such order as was possible, from the 
nature of the pursuit, found itself on the evening of the 
4th of May, effectually stopped. There was rain, mud, 
infinite discomfort, apparent confusion, unquestionably 
no head to the movements of the troops, and as darkness 
settled down over the bivouacking army there was any- 
thing but a bright prospect for success. With the dawn 
of the 5th, however, matters began to assume shape and 
the divisions got into their positions. Hooker made his 
famous, bloody and ineffectual struggle in the fallen tim- 
bers before Fort Magruder. It was a gallant effort per- 
sistently made, and while reflecting honor on the division, 
resulted in nothing but heavy loss. Early in the forenoon 
General Hancock obtained permission to reconnoiter the 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 



179 



enemy's left. With two light batteries and two additional 
regiments, he moved for a mile or more to the right of 
our line, carefully feeling the enemy's strength. Presently 
he came upon an opening in the woods and before him 
was a deep ravine, a dam across it, and on the opposite 
bluff a rebel fortification, the continuation of the rebel 
left. A glance showed the commander that the fort was 
not strongly manned, and by a rapid movement might be 
forced. This was quickly done. The troops poured 
across the dam, climbed the bluff and drove the enemy 
out of the redoubt. A road was hastily improvised up the 
bluff, the artillery was dragged across the dam, and Han- 
cock formed his brigade in line of battle within the enemy's 
line of fortifications, and moved at once on a line parallel 
to the one by which he had advanced, straight back to- 
ward the rebel centre at Fort Magruder. It was a 
masterly movement. By one quick stroke he had com- 
pletely turned the enemy's left, and unless stopped and 
driven back, he would render the whole rebel line unten- 
able. The enemy fell back slowly before his advance, 
until a position some twelve hundred yards from Fort 
Magruder was reached. From this point, a gentle slope 
descended some distance toward the rebel centre. It was 
a fine position for artillery work, and Hancock sent his 
two batteries a short distance to the front with adequate 
support, and a heavy artillery duel ensued. The position, 
however, was a perilous one. His little command was a 
long distance from any supports ; an almost impassable 
ravine was between it and the rest of the division and the 
army, and before it was an overwhelming force ; in fact, 
the whole rebel army. Reinforcements were sent for, but 
none came. The day wore on, and the position became 
critical ; without reinforcements it seemed madness to 
attempt to hold the advantage gained. With adequate 
suppon the rebel army was at our mercy. Between these 
conflicting views the General held on until nearly 5 o'clock 
in the afternoon. Then General Hancock determined to 



l8o OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

withdraw, and issued the order to retire the batteries back 
to the slope where the brigade line stood. 

But the lynx-eyed rebel commander having repulsed 
Hooker in front, and realizing perfectly the danger which 
threatened him with his left flank turned, made his dis- 
positions with a view of utterly overwhelming Hancock. 
The order to retire the artillery had not been executed, 
when, with a tremendous cheer, the enemy debouched 
from the woods on Hancock's right front, and in two 
splendid lines of battle two brigades of Early's troops 
moved on Hancock's line. There was no such thing as 
retreat then. Retreat meant rout, utter overthrow, cap- 
ture. Whatever might be the effect of standing his 
ground, retreat was the worst of all possible expedients. 
Hancock stood his ground. Not altogether ; the enemy, 
regardless of shell and hardly stopping for canister, 
swept around and almost enveloped the artillery which 
barely escaped from a loop in the rebel advance and 
went into the battery again on the slope. The brigade 
in perfect order, firing steadily, slowly retired before the 
rebel advance. The latter came on impetuously, firing 
and shouting "Bull Run ! Bull Run ! That flag is ours ! " 
As they came slowly up the slope, flushed with certain 
victory, Hancock seized the opportune moment. He had 
been sitting close behind the centre of the line watching 
with imperturbable coolness the phases of the struggle. 
It was a supreme hour. Would his brigade respond in 
the presence of such overwhelming advancing numbers ? 
The fight was, it must be remembered, in the open field. 
It was now at murderously short range. The thoughts 
of this brave commander in that crisis nobody knew. 
What he did all the world knows. The Little Corporal 
is said to have watched a similar struggle, and at the cri- 
sis to have thrown himself headlong across the bridge of 
Lodi. What Hancock did was a piece of the same per- 
sonal daring. Dashing forward on his horse with head 
bared, swinging his hat and shouting " Forward ! For- 



LIFE OF WINFIELB S. HANCOCK. 181 

ward ! For God's sake forward ! " he showed himself 
among his men in the line of battle. Forty yards away was 
the great, irregularly shaped, firing, shouting rebel force. 
It seemed madness to attempt to stop them. But the bri- 
gade saw and recognized Hancock's blazing form before 
them. Here and now he gave that historic order, " Gen- 
tlemen, Charge," and with a shout that drowned the 
crackling musketry, with lowered bayonets and with a 
line as perfect as though the men were on parade, the 
brigade advanced. A minute more and the conflicting 
forces would be hand to hand ; but this did not occur. 

The rebel line faltered, then stopped, then turned, as 
though actuated by one unpleasant, common impulse, and 
back they went, slowly, obstinately, fighting still, but still 
back the way they came, leaving the ground covered with 
their dead and wounded, to say nothing, of some hun- 
dreds who were found retreating under fire, not so 
agreeable as advancing under the same conditions, and 
who held up white handkerchiefs and surrendered. 
Shortly after the struggle was over the wished for rein- 
forcements came in plenty, but now it was night. The 
great opportunity of following up the blow was lost. 
During the night the enemy retreated, the success of 
Hancock having made the Williamsburg lines untenable, 
although constructed to sustain a siege. 

This was Hancock's first glory, and it was a shining 
glory, too. From an unknown subordinate in a few 
hours his name was heard from Maine to California. 

Particular description or even mention cannot be made 
in this sketch, of all the brilliant deeds performed by 
this great soldier during the Civil War. He was almost 
perpetually engaged. Golding's Farm, Garnet's Hill, 
Savage Station, Malvern Hill, South Mountain, Antie- 
tam — where he succeeded Gen. Richardson, who fell, in 
command of his division — Fredricksburg, Chancellor- 



I $2 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

ville, Marye's Heights, and a score of others, will be 
names inseparably connected with his history. For his 
conspicuous services in the Peninsular campaign, he was 
recommended by the General-in-Chief for promotion to 
the rank of Major-General of Volunteers, and for the 
brevets of Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel, in 
the regular army. In November, 1862, he received his 
commissions. As he advanced to higher rank, unlike 
many successful commanders, he did not avail himself of 
the privilege of remaining at some safe point in the rear, 
communicating by his aids with his subordinates. He 
continued his practice of being with his men and sharing 
their dangers. He was always at the critical point at the 
critical moment ; and his soldiers knew that they were 
commanded by a man who knew no fear himself, which 
inspired them with the sublime courage which made the 
old Second Corps invincible. 

GETTYSBURG. 

" He that outlives this day and comes safe home 
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named. 
He that shall live this day and see old age 
Will yearly on the vigil feast his friends." 

Henry V. 

"A combination and a form indeed 
Where every God did seem to set his seal 
To give the world assurance of a man." 

Hamlet. 

By common consent, Gettysburg was the turning point 
of the war. The desperate valor of the Southern men 
had withstood every shock, but Lee had come to perceive 
that for the success of the Confederate cause, the war 
on their part must be more than defensive. Suddenly 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 183 

in June, 1863, he marched with all his available force 
into the Northern territory, at once threatening Washing- 
ton and Philadelphia. Riots, instigated by secret emis- 
saries, broke out simultaneously in the Northern cities. 
The tremendous consequences of a rebel victory at that 
time can only be imagined. If Washington should fall, 
nothing could save Baltimore and Philadelphia. New- 
York itself might follow. Europe would at once have 
recognized the Confederacy, and nothing but long years 
of bloody warfare could have saved the Union, if indeed 
it was not at once and forever destroyed, with all the 
hopes of humanity which rested upon its existence. It 
was a dark hour for the nation. 

The army of the Potomac, under the command of 
General Meade, was thrown rapidly in the same direction, 
to intercept the rebel progress. On the march, Hancock 
was selected to cover the rear, as the veteran Second 
Corps under their gallant leader could best be relied 
upon to grapple with the wily Lee, if that great strategist 
should make a sudden deflection toward the Capitol. 
Thus the contending forces swept up from Virginia, 
through Maryland into Pennsylvania. Neither knew the 
exact position or the strength of the other, but thus they 
rushed toward some unknown point, where they were to 
meet and try conclusions in one of the most momentous 
struggles of history. That point proved to be Gettys- 
burg, six miles north of Mason and Dixon's line. 
General Mulholland, an officer in the Second Corps, thus 
describes the march, in a pamphlet prepared by him, 
commemorative of the occasion : 

The march to Gettysburg was one of the longest and 



184 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

most severe we had yet experienced. In thinking of war 
we are apt to look only at the battles ; to hear the dread 
sound of strife ; see the deadly, gaping wounds, and are 
ready to crown the survivors or give honor to those who fell ; 
but the hardships of the march, the heats of summer, the 
colds of winter, the entire absence of every comfort and 
luxury in active service is over-looked or forgotten by 
those who do not participate. Napoleon, when retreating 
from Moscow, lost many of his men by the excessive cold ; 
directly opposite was our experience on the way to Gettys- 
burg. On one day, I think the second out from Fal- 
mouth, our corps lost more than a dozen men from sun- 
stroke — they fell dead by the wayside. On another day 
we crossed the battle-field of Bull Run, where the year 
before Pope had met with disastrous defeat. No effort 
had been made to bury the dead properly ; a little earth, 
which the rain had long ago washed away, had been 
thrown over them where they fell, and their bodies, or 
rather their skeletons, now lay exposed to view. In some 
parts of the fields they were in groups, in other places 
singly and in all possible positions. One cavalryman lay 
outstreched with skeleton hand still grasping his rusted 
sword. Another, half covered with earth, the flesh still 
clinging to bis lifeless bones and hand extended as if to 
greet us. We rested for a short time on the field and one 
of the regiments, our brigade (the Twenty-eighth Mass- 
achusetts) halted on the very spot on which they had 
fought the year previously, and recognized the various 
articles lying around as belonging to their own dead. 

The route of the Second corps to Gettysburg was over 
two hundred miles in length. Some days we marched 
fifteen, on others eighteen miles, and on one day (June 
29) this corps completed the longest march made by any 
infantry during the war — leaving Frederick City, Md., in 
the morning and halting at 11 o'clock P. M., two miles 
beyond Uniontown, a distance of thirty-four miles. When 
I look back over the almost score of years to this march 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOOK. 185 

of the Second corps, and think of the perfect discipline 
in the ranks, the cheerfulness with which the enlisted 
men, with their load of fifty-seven pounds weight — musket 
and ammunition, knapsack and cartridge box, shelter tent 
and blanket, canteen and rations — trudged along under 
the broiling sun of the hottest month in our year ; how 
bravely they struggled to keep up with their regiments 
lest they should miss the fight, and how, while on the 
march, no act was committed which could bring dishonor 
upon them as men, as citizens or as soldiers, my heart fills 
with admiration, and I offer a flowing measure of praise 
to my comrades who are yet alive and to those who are 
no more. There is not an inhabitant on all that line of 
march who can tell of a single act of vandalism by any of 
the men, such as we are wont to hear of other armies. 
In the rich and cultivated country through which we 
passed, life and property were respected as much as 
though we were in the halcyon days of peace. Old and 
young came to the roadside to see the army pass, and 
knew they were safe from insult or molestation. The 
fields of ripening grain waved untrampled when the corps 
had gone by, the men even going out of their way to avoid 
the gardens lest they should step upon the flowers. The 
perfection of discipline in the army at this period was extra- 
ordinary. The armies that fought the war of 1861 differed 
very widely from the armies of other nations. We had no 
hoardes of Cossack, no regiments of Bashi-Bazouks to burn 
and destroy, to insult the aged or crush the defenseless. 
When Hancock, at Williamsburg, said to his brigade, " Gen- 
tlemen, charge !" he did not call his troops out of their 
name. Our army was literally an army of gentlemen. 

And so we passed on to Thoroughfare gap, to Edward's 
Ferry, to Frederick, Md., to Uniontown and Taneytown, 
where, on the morning of July 1, the Second corps was 
massed, and where General Meade's headquarters had 
been established. While the corps were filing into the 
fields to the right and left of the road, and settling down 



l86 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

for a rest and to wait for orders, General Hancock rode 
over to General Meade and entered into conversation 
with him. As they were talking a mounted officer dashed 
up, bringing the intelligence that fighting had begun at 
Gettysburg — thirteen miles distant. The news was mea- 
gre — only that there was fighting. That was all ; yet it 
caused a general surprise, unaware as we were of the 
near proximity of the enemy, and was enough to send a 
thrill throughout the veteran ranks. The road that leads 
to Gettysburg is scanned with anxious eyes, and soon, 
away in the distance, rises a cloud of dust, which comes 
nearer and nearer, and another messenger from the front 
is with us. He tells us that Reynolds is killed or mortally 
wounded ; that the First and Eleventh corps are fighting 
and the battle is against us. It is now i o'clock, too late 
for the Second corps to reach the field that day to take 
part in stemming the tide of rebel victory ; but not so 
with their commander. Meade orders Hancock to pro- 
ceed to the front and take command of all the troops 
there assembled. This was ten minutes past one o'clock, 
and within twenty minutes Hancock, with his staff, was 
on the road to Gettysburg. He goes like Desaix at Ma- 
rengo, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. (A 
strange coincidence. Nearly a century before, the grand- 
father of General Hancock, then a soldier of Washington, 
started from this same little village of Taneytown to 
escort some of the prisoners of Burgoyne to Valley 
Forge.) The Second corps promptly followed General 
Hancock and required no urging to keep the men up. 
The regiments moved forward solidly and rapidly, and 
not a straggler was to be seen. I never saw men cover 
thirteen miles so quickly ; but as they hurried along a 
halt was ordered, the ranks opened, and an ambulance 
passed containing the dead body of the heroic General 
John F. Reynolds. Then the corps pushed on to within 
a few miles of the battle ground, where it camped that 
night and arrived on the field early the next morning. 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 187 

HANCOCK TO THE FRONT. 

As General Hancock proceeded to the front he rode 
part of the way in an ambulance, so that he might exam- 
ine the maps of the country, his aid, Major Mitchell, 
galloping ahead to announce his coming to General How- 
ard, whom he found on Cemetery hill, and to whom he 
told his errand, giving him to understand that General 
Hancock was coming up to take command. At half-past 
3 o'clock General Hancock rode up to General Howard, 
informed him that he had come to take command, and 
asked him if he wished to see his written orders. How- 
ard answered : " No ! No ! Hancock, go ahead." At 
this moment our defeat seemed to be complete. Our 
troops were flowing through the streets of the town in 
great disorder, closely pursued by the Confederates,. the 
retreat fast becoming a route, and in a very few minutes 
the enemy would have been in .possession of Cemetery 
hill, the key to the position, and the battle of Gettysburg 
would have gone into history as a rebel victory. But 
what a change came over the scene in the next half hour. 
The presence of Hancock, like that of Sheridan, was 
magnetic. Order came out of chaos. The flying troops 
halt, and again face the enemy. The battalions of How- 
ard's corps that were retreating down the Baltimore pike, 
are called back, and with a cheer go into position on the 
crest of Cemetery hill, where the division of Steinwehr 
had already been stationed. Wadsworth's division and 
a battery are sent to hold Culp's hill, and Geary, 
with the White Star division, goes on the double-quick to 
occupy the high ground toward Round Top. Confidence 
is restored, the enemy checked, and being deceived by 
these dispositions, cease their attack. 

General Hancock was fully aware that General Meade 
had determined to fight the battle on the line of Pipe 
creek ; but noting the topographical advantages of the 
ground around Gettysburg, he determined to advise Gen- 
eral Meade to fight there. He knew that this line, the 



1 88 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

crest of Cemetery ridge, with Culp's hill on the right, 
Round Top on the left, and Cemetery hill in the centre, 
could not be bettered. So, when order had taken the 
place of confusion, and our lines once more intact, he 
sent his senior aid, Major Mitchell, back to tell General 
Meade that, in his judgment, Gettysburg was the place to 
fight our battle. Major Mitchell found General Meade 
in the evening near Taneytown, and communicated these 
views. General Meade listened attentively, and on these 
representations, he fortunately concluded to abandon his 
idea of fighting on the line of Pipe creek, and deliver the 
battle at Gettysburg ; and turning to General Seth Wil- 
liams, his adjutant general, he said : "Order up all the 
troops — we will fight there." 

The morning of July 2, and the second day of the 
battle, dawned clear and bright, and found Hancock 
posting the Second corps on Cemetery ridge. 

Soon the long lines of the Third corps are seen ad- 
vancing, and how splendidly they march. It looks like a 
dress parade, a review. On, on they go, out towards the 
peach orchard, but not a shot is fired. A little while 
longer, and some one calls out " There ! " and points to 
where a puff of smoke is seen arising against the dark 
green of the woods. Another and another cloud, until 
the whole face of the forest is enveloped, and the dread 
sound of the artillery comes loud and quick ; shells are 
seen bursting in all directions along the lines. The 
bright colors of the regiment are conspicuous marks, and 
the shells burst around them in great numbers. The 
musketry begins, the infantry become engaged, and the 
battle extends along the whole front of Sickle's corps. 
Now the sounds come from Little Round Top, and the 
smoke rises among the trees, and all the high and wooded 
ground to the left of the peach orchard seems to be the 
scene of strife. An hour passes and our troops give 
way, and are falling back ; but slowly, very slowly, every 
inch of ground is fought for. The Third corps is not in 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 189 

the habit of giving it up, and they hold their own well ; 
but the odds are against them, and they are forced to 
retire. 

Now help is called for, and Hancock tells Caldwell to 
have his division ready. " Fall in ! " and the men run to 
their places. " Take arms ! " and the four brigades of 
Zook, Cross, Brook and Kelly are ready for the fray. 
There is yet a few minutes to spare before starting, and 
the time is occupied in one of the most impressive relig- 
ious ceremonies I have ever witnessed. The Irish 
Brigade, which had been commanded formerly by Gen- 
eral Thomas Francis Meagher, and whose green flag had 
been unfurled in every battle in which the Army of the 
Potomac had been engaged, from the first BuH'Run to 
Appomattox, and was now commanded by Colonel 
Patrick Kelly, of the Eighty-eighth New York, formed a 
part of this division. The brigade stood in column of 
regiments, closed in mass. As a large majority of its 
members were Catholics, the chaplain of the brigade, 
Rev. William Corby, proposed to give a general absolu- 
tion to all the men before going into the fight. 

While this is customary in the armies of Catholic 
countries of Europe, it was, perhaps, the first time it was 
ever witnessed on this continent, unless, indeed, the grim 
old warrior, Ponce de Leon, as he tramped through the 
everglades of Florida in search of the Fountain of 
Youth, or De Soto on his march to the Mississippi, 
indulged in this act of devotion. Father Corby stood 
upon a large rock in front of the brigade. Addressing 
the men, he explained what he was about to do, saying 
that each one could receive the benefit of the absolution 
by making a sincere act of contrition and firmly resolv- 
ing to embrace the first opportunity of confessing their 
sins, urging them to do their duty well, and reminding 
them of the high and sacred nature of their trust as 
soldiers, and the noble object for which they fought, end- 
ing by saying that the Catholic Church refuses Christian 



190 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

burial to the soldier who turns his back upon the foe or 
deserts his flag. 

The brigade was standing at u Order arms." As he 
closed his address, every man fell on his knees, with head 
bowed down. Then stretching his right hand toward the 
brigade, Father Corby pronounced the words of the 
absolution : " Dominus noster Jesus C/iristus vos absolvat, 
et ego, auctoritate ipsius, vos absolvo ab omni vinculo excom- 
municationis et inter die ti in quantum possum et vos indigetis, 
deinde ego absolvo vos a peccatis vestris in nomine jPatris, et 
Filio, et Spiritus Sancto. Amen." 

The scene was more than impressive, — it was awe- 
inspiring. Near by stood Hancock, surrounded by a 
brilliant throng of officers, who had gathered to witness 
this very unusual occurrence, and while there was pro- 
found silence in the ranks of the Second corps, yet over 
to the left, out by the peach orchard and Little Round 
Top, where Weed and Vincent and Haslett were dying, 
the roar of the battle rose and swelled and re-echoed 
through the woods, making music more sublime than ever 
sounded through cathedral aisle. The act seemed to be 
in harmony with all the surroundings. 

The fighting on the second day, July 2d, was terrible, 
the lines at one time being not more than thirty feet 
apart. At one point fourteen hundred men were lost in 
half an hour, including two Brigadier Commanders, Gen- 
eral S. H. Zook and Col. E. E. Cross. On the morning 
of that day, General Hancock had said to Col. Cross, 
u this is the last day you fight as Colonel : to-day will 
make you a Brigadier-General," Cross with a premo- 
nition of his fate, answered : " No General, it is too late. 
I shall never wear a star. To-day I shall be killed." 

But the great fight of all was on the 3d. Here we 
quote again from Gen. Mulholland : 



LIFE OF WINF1ELD S. HANCOCK 191 

As the day advanced the sound of artillery mingled 
with the musketry, and we knew that a hard fight was in 
progress. The men of our line almost held their breath 
with anxiety. About 9 o'clock the firing suddenly ceased. 
A tremendous cheer went up, and a minute later every 
man in the army knew that we were again in possession 
of Culp's hill. Then came a few hours of peace — a perfect 
calm. From Cemetery hill to Round Top not a move- 
ment had been observed or a shot fired all the morning. 

About noon we could see considerable activity along 
Seminary ridge. Battery after battery appeared along the 
edge of the woods. Guns were unlimbered, placed in 
position and the horses taken to the rear. On our side, 
officers sat around in groups and, through field glasses, 
anxiously watched these movements in our front and 
wondered what it all meant. Shortly after 1 o'clock, how- 
ever, we knew all about it. The headquarter wagons had 
just come up and General Gibbons had invited Hancock 
and staff to partake of some lunch. The bread that was 
handed around — if it ever was eaten — was consumed with- 
out butter, for as the orderly was passing the latter article 
to the gentlemen, a shell from Seminary ridge cut him in 
two. Instantly the air was filled with bursting shells ; the 
batteries that we had been watching for the last two hours 
going into position in our front did not open singly or 
spasmodically. The whole hundred and twenty guns, 
which now began to play upon us, seemed to be dis- 
charged simultaneously, as though by electricity. And 
then for nearly two hours the storm of death went on. 

I have read many accounts of this artillery duel, but 
the most graphic description by the most able writers falls 
far short of the reality. No tongue or pen can find lan- 
guage strong enough to convey any idea of its awfulness. 
Streams of screaming projectiles poured through the hot 
air, falling and bursting everywhere. Men and horses 
were torn limb from limb ; caissons exploded one after 
another in rapid succession, blowing the gunners to pieces. 



192 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

No spot within our lines was free from this frightful iron 
rain. The infantry hugged close the earth and sought 
every slight shelter that our light earth-works afforded. 
It was literally a storm of shot and shell that the oldest 
soldiers there — those who had taken part in almost every 
battle of the war — had not yet witnessed. That awful, 
rushing sound of the flying missiles, which causes the firm- 
est hearts to quail, is everywhere. 

At this tumultuous moment we witness a deed of heroism 
such as we are apt to attribute only to knights of the old- 
en time. Hancock, mounted and accompanied by his 
staff, Major Mitchell, Captain Harry Bingham, Captain 
Isaac Parker and Captain E. P. Bronson, with the corps 
flag flying in the hands of a brave Irishman, Private James 
Wells, of the Sixth New York Cavalry, started at the right 
of his line, where it joins the Taneytown road, and slowly 
rode along the terrible crest to the extreme left of his po- 
sition, while shot and shell roared and crashed around 
him, and every moment tore great gaps in the ranks at his 
side. 

" Storm'd at with shot and shell, 
Boldly they rode, and well." 

It was a gallant deed and withal not a reckless exposure 
of life, for the presence and calm demeanor of the com- 
mander as he passed through the lines of his men set 
them an example which an hour later bore good fruit and 
nerved their stout hearts to win the greatest and most de- 
cisive battle ever fought on this continent. For an hour 
after the firing began our batteries replied vigorously and 
then ceased altogether, but the rebel shells came as 
numerously as ever. Then, for over a half hour, not a 
soul was seen stirring on our line — we might have been 
an army of dead men for all the evidence of life visible. 
Suddenly the enemy stopped their fire, which had been 
going on for nearly two hours without intermission, and 
then the long lines of their infantry — eighteen thousand 
strong — emerged from the woods and began their ad- 
vance. 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 193 

At this moment silence reigned along our whole line. 
With arms at a " right shoulder shift " the division of 
Longstreet's corps moved forward with a precision that 
was wonderfully beautiful. It is now our turn and the 
lines that a few moments before seemed so still now 
teemed with animation. Eighty of our guns open their 
brazen mouths ; solid shot and shell are sent on their 
errand of destruction in quick succession. We see them 
fall in countless numbers among the advancing troops. 
The accuracy of our lire could not be excelled ; the missiles 
strike right in the ranks, tearing and rending them in 
every direction. The ground over which they have 
passed is strewn with dead and wounded ; but on they 
come. The gaps in the ranks are closed as soon as 
made. They have three-quarters of a mile to pass ex- 
posed to our fire, and half the distance is nearly passed. 
Our gunners now load with canister and the effect is ap- 
palling ; but still they march on. Their gallantry is past 
all praise — it is sublime. Now they are within a hundred 
yards. Our infantry rise up and pour round after round 
into these heroic troops. 

At Waterloo the Old Guard recoiled before a less 
severe fire ; but there was no recoil in these men of the 
south — they marched right on as though they courted 
death. They concentrate in great numbers and strike on 
the most advanced part of our line. The crash of the 
musketry and the cheers of the men blend together. 
The Philadelphia brigade occupy this point. They are 
fighting on their own ground and for their own state, and 
in the bloody hand to hand engagement which ensues, 
the Confederates though fighting with desperate valor, 
find it impossible to dislodge them — they are rooted to 
the ground. 

Seeing how utterly hopeless further effort would be 
and knowing the impossibility of reaching their lines 
should they attempt a retreat, large numbers of the rebels 
lay down their arms and the battle is won. To the left 



194 0UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

of the Philadelphia brigade we did not get to such close 
quarters. Seeing the utter annihilation of Pickett's 
troops, the division of Wilcox and others on their right 
went to pieces almost before they got within musket 
range. A few here and there ran away and tried to regain 
their lines, but many laid down their arms and came in 
as prisoners. At the most critical moment Hancock fell, 
among his men, on the line of Stannard's Vermont brigade, 
desperately wounded, but he continued to direct the fight 
until victory was assured, and then he sent Major Mit- 
chell to announce the glad tidings to the commander of 
the army. Said he : " Tell General Meade that the troops 
under my command have repulsed the assault of the 
enemy, who are now flying in all directions in my front." 
"Say to General Hancock," said Meade, in reply, "I re- 
gret exceedingly that he is wounded, and I thank him for 
The country and for myself for the service he has ren- 
dered to-day." Truly, the country may thank General 
Hancock, as Congress afterwards did, for the great ser- 
vice on that field. 

Five thousand prisoners were sent to the rear, and we 
gathered up thirty-three regimental standards in front of 
the Second corps. The remaining hours of daylight dur- 
ing this day were occupied in caring for the wounded, 
looking over the field and talking of the incidents of the 
fight. 

Many noble officers and men were lost on both sides, 
and in the camp hospital they died in hundreds during 
the afternoon and night. The rebel General Armistead 
died in this way. As he was being carried to the rear 
he was met by Captain Harry Bingham, of Hancock's 
staff, who, getting off his horse, asked him if he could do 
anything for him. Armistead replied, to take his watch 
and spurs to General Hancock that they might be sent 
to his relatives. His wishes were complied with, General 
Hancock sending them to his friends at the first op- 
portunity. Armistead was a brave soldier, with a chiv- 



Life of winfield s. Hancock. 195 

alric presence and came forward in front of his brigade 
waving his sword. He was shot through the body and 
fell inside of our lines, 

Some of the wounded rebels showed considerable ani- 
mosity toward our men. One of them, who lay mortally 
wounded in front of the Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania, sul- 
lenly refused to be taken to the hospital, saying that he 
wanted to die right there on the field where he fell. 

The scene after Longstreet's charge was indescribable. 
In front of the Philadelphia brigade the dead lay in great 
heaps. Dismounted guns, ruins of exploded caissons, 
dead and mutilated men and horses were piled up to- 
gether in every direction. 

On the morning of the 5th we found that the enemy 
had gone, and then what a scene ! I think the fact was 
first discovered by the troops on Culp's hill, and what a 
cheer went up ; a cheer that swelled into a roar and was 
taken up by the boys on Cemetery hill, rolled along the 
crest to Round Top and then back again. Cheers for 
the Philadelphia brigade that stood a living Avail, against 
which the hosts beat in vain. Cheers for Meade, the sol- 
dier, "without fear or reproach," who here began, with a 
great victory, his illustrious career as commander of the 
army of the Potomac. Cheers for Hancock, who had 
stemmed the tide of defeat on the first day and selected the 
ground on which this glorious victory was achieved, who 
on the second day had again stopped the tide of rebel 
victory and restored our shattered lines, and on the third 
day had met and repulsed the final assault on which Lee's 
all was staked, and won the battle that was really the 
death-blow to the rebellion. 

And then we gathered up with tender care and con- 
signed to earth our noble dead. 

When will their glory fade ? 

Indeed they have not died in vain. The good they 
have accomplished will last forever. History will record 



I96 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

in glowing words their heroic deeds and glorious death. 

Long after the granite of their monuments shall have 
crumbled into dust ; even when the name of the battle 
shall have been forgotten, the Union and the blessings of 
civil liberty, which they died to perpetuate, shall reign 
throughout the land. 

Three years later Congress, by joint resolution, 
thanked General Hancock for his gallant, meritorious 
and conspicuous share in that great and decisive victory. 

The wound which General Hancock received at 
Gettysburg, barely missed being mortal. He was 
attended on that occasion by the distinguished New 
Jersey surgeon, Dr. A. N. Dougherty, of Newark, who 
was then upon his staff as medical director of the 
Second corps, to whom, as well as to General W. G. 
Mitchell — General Hancock's present chief of staff, the 
Major Mitchell of Gettysburg — the writer is indebted 
for much valuable material in the writing of this sketch, 
which he takes this occasion gratefully to acknowledge. 
It was Dr. Dougherty who wrote the dispatch at General 
Hancock's dictation, announcing the victory to General 
Meade. 

SUBSEQUENT BATTLES. 

It was many months before General Hancock's wound 
healed sufficiently to enable him to again take the field ; 
but much sooner than his physical condition warranted, 
he was back to his old command, its ranks made full by 
recruiting, and increased by the addition of one-half of 
the old Third corps, swelling the total to fifty thousand 
veterans, at the head of whom, although in constant 
physical pain, he fought with conspicuous ability and 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 197 

heroism in the battles of the Wilderness, performing in 
those three bloody days,— May 5th, 6th and 7th, 1864 — 
new prodigies of valor, throwing himself sword in hand 
into the midst of contest like a knight of the olden time, 
and thus stimulating his men to invincibility. On the 
10th he led the assault at Allsops, and on the 12th per- 
formed one of the most brilliant feats of the war, which 
has passed into history as the assault of Spottsylvania. 
The enemy was strongly entrenched and possessed every 
advantage of ground ; but early in the morning, under 
cover of a dense fog, he effected a partial surprise, and 
carried the position with a rush, capturing at one blow 
five thousand prisoners, twenty-two pieces of artillery, 
thirty stands of colors, and several thousand muskets. 
Among the prisoners were two general officers — Gen. 
Stewart and Gen. Bradley Johnson, and one entire divis- 
ion of the enemy. There is now in the museum at 
Washington, the stump of a tree, which was cut com- 
pletely off by the bullets from both sides, in this 
engagement. 

Other engagements followed, too numerous for even 
mention in the compass of this article. His wound 
re-opened, and on the march he would ride in an ambu- 
lance, mounting his horse only during action. On the 
1 2th of August he was made Brigadier-General of the 
regular army. On the 25th he fought the battle of 
Ream's Station. On the 27th of October he gained the 
victory of Boydton Road, capturing one thousand 
prisoners. 

At the battle of Hatcher's Run an incident occurred 
which shows the peculiar character of General Hancock's 



198 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

courage. Before the engagement opened, he said to the 
medical director : " Doctor, I want you with me to-day, 
and that you should keep near me. I feel that I am 
going to be wounded again." Fortunately the presenti- 
ment was unfulfilled. His horse fell under him, but the 
General was unscathed. How sublime must be the cour- 
age of that man who could thus carry himself, impressed 
with the belief that Death, with upraised arm, was riding 
invisible at his side. 

Still the war went on, and the stubborn Southerners 
would not yield. In November, General Hancock was 
detached from the Army of the Potomac, and ordered to 
Washington. There were thousands of veterans whose 
terms of enlistment had expired, and whom it was desir- 
able to bring back into the field. President Lincoln, 
with far-seeing sagacity, reasoned that 50,000 such men, 
hardened as by fire — steel-hardened in battles — would be 
an invaluable reliance, and bethought him of Hancock, 
the chief veteran general of the army, as the man to 
whose standard they would flock. The idea proved cor- 
rect : the force was speedily raised, and with it he went 
to the front as Commander of the Middle' Division, 
embracing the departments of West Virginia, Pennsyl- 
vania and Washington, with his headquarters at Winches- 
ter. His new command also included the Army of the 
Shenandoah, in all a force of nearly 100,000 veterans, 
brought thus together under the most successful fighter 
of the war, for the striking of a final blow. Well might 
Lee tremble. Hancock held himself in readiness to 
co-operate at one hours' notice with the Army of the 
Potomac, or to take transports and join Sherman in the 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 199 

South ; but Lee's army broke at Petersburg, and surren- 
dered at Appomattox, and the war was at an end. 

In April, 1865, Lincoln fell by the hand of an assassin, 
Seward was stabbed nearly to death, and everything 
indicated a wide-spread conspiracy to destroy the entire 
government by secret assassination of every prominent 
officer thereof. A universal feeling of fear and distrust 
pervaded the nation. Men cried out, " How long, 
God, how long," and despair for a moment seemed to 
settle down upon the whole people of the North. In 
this emergency, Hancock was summoned to Washington. 
Then the nation breathed freer, and men said, " Thank 
God a man is in Washington who can be trusted." 
Andrew Johnson became President, and he kept Han- 
cock in Washington during the trial of the conspirators, 
and until after their execution. There were some drivel- 
ing idiots who doubted Johnson, and even accused him 
of being a party to the assassination of Lincoln, that he 
might step over his dead body to the Presidency ; but 
none ever "doubted Hancock ; and those who doubted 
Johnson, lived to have shame crimson their faces. 

It was Hancock's painful duty to superintend the 
execution of the prisoners convicted, one of whom, a 
woman — Mrs. Suratt — stoutly asserted her innocence of 
all complicity with the conspirators, and for her wide 
sympathy was aroused ; but his duty was simply an 
executive one, and as such it was performed. Hoping 
and believing that the appeals of the daughter of Mrs. 
Suratt would touch the President's heart, he offered her 
every facility for gaining access to him, and on the day 
of the execution he planted a line of mounted sentinels 
9* 



200 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

from the scaffold to the White House, so that to the last 
moment a reprieve or any act of clemency might be 
swiftly and surely conveyed. The hour came ; there 
was no reprieve. Hancock preserved the peace of the 
city, executioners performed their duty, and the con- 
demned died. 

In July, 1866, Hancock was made full Major-General 
of the regular army, having been so brevetted one year 
previous. He assumed command of the Department of 
Missouri, and conducted several campaigns against the 
hostile Indians of the North-west. He is, at this writing, 
the senior Major-General of the army, with headquarters 
on Governor's Island, in New York bay. His stars have 
been honestly won by forty years of fighting for a nation 
that perchance may say to him, " Well done, good and 
faithful servant," and with hearts swelling with gratitude, 
confer upon him the highest earthly honor, higher than 
any throne, — the Chief Magistracy of the American 
Union, with its fifty millions of people — its thirty-eight 
States — each one an empire. 

In view of this contingency, let us inquire into the 
civil qualifications of this great soldier. 



CHAPTER XII. 
LIFE OF GEN. W. S. HANCOCK.— Continued. 

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD. 

When the Southern armies had all surrendered, and 
the rebellion was crushed, and the Union had been pre- 
served, many difficulties still existed which must be 
settled, before the era of good feeling, contentment and 
reliable patriotism in the Southern States could be estab- 
lished. Some millions of human beings who had been 
held in servitude had, by the operations of the war, 
become free, and were entitled to the protection of the 
government ; and in many respects the problem almost 
defied solution. Finally the word "reconstruction" was 
adopted by the party in power, with " all that the term 
implied," and the South was parcelled out into so-called 
"Military Districts," over which were placed military 
officers armed with extraordinary powers, and with few 
checks to restrain them from despotism. The military 
commander might at will invoke the civil law, or if not 
so disposed, he might establish and enforce the military 
code ; or if a wise and patriotic man, he might adopt the 
former for the general government of the people, and 
hold the latter in reserve for any extreme emergency. 
Many weak and unworthy men were appointed, who 
appeared to consider themselves quartered upon a con- 
quered people to rule them with a rod of iron, and not a 



202 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

few so-called leading statesmen believed in making the 
system permanent for one or two generations, or at least 
so long as might be expedient for the possession of 
political power. Andrew Johnson did not take this 
view, which fact brought him eventually into that collis- 
ion with his party which led to his impeachment, and 
almost to his conviction and removal from the Presiden- 
tial chair. 

There having been disturbances in the 5th military 
district and the Department of the Gulf, exaggerated 
accounts of which had been widely spread at the North, 
the President ordered General Hancock to assume its 
command. Here commences his career as a statesman. 
His predecessor had unhesitatingly made the military 
arm superior to the civil law, and was ruling the great 
States of Louisiana and Texas — a territory comprising 
more than three hundred thousand square miles — with 
absolute and irresponsible power. Let us see what this 
man of camps and battle-fields did on his arrival. It 
was the theory of Congress that the people of the South 
had, by their rebellion, forfeited their constitutional 
liberties, and had no civil rights which a military com- 
mander was bound to respect. Years have since passed, 
and most men now see how erroneous was that view. 
From the first, General Hancock dissented, and held the 
belief that " the Constitution had survived the war, and was 
still the rightful heritage of all the people." The issuing 
of the following order was his first official act in his new 
position : 



life of winfield s. hancock. 203 

Headquarters Fifth Military District. ) 
New Orleans, La., November 29, 1867. j 

General Orders, No. 40. 

1. In accordance with General Order No. 81, Head- 
quarters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Wash- 
ington, D. C, August 27, 1867, Major-General W. S. 
Hancock hereby assumes command of the Fifth Military 
District and of the department composed of the States of 
Louisiana and Texas. 

2. The General commanding is gratified to learn that 
peace and quiet reign in this department. It will be his 
purpose to preserve this condition of things. As a means 
to this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil 
authorities in the faithful execution of the laws as the 
most efficient under existing circumstances. In war it is 
indispensable to repel force by force and overthrow and 
destroy opposition to lawful authority ; but when insur- 
rectionary force has been overthrown and peace estab- 
lished, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to 
perform their duties, the military power should cease to 
lead and the civil administration resume its natural and 
rightful dominion. Solemnly impressed with these views, 
the General announces that the great principles of 
American liberty are still the lawful inheritance of this 
people and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, 
the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom 
of speech,. the natural rights of persons and the rights of 
property must be preserved. Free institutions, while 
they are essential to the prosperity and happiness of the 
people, always furnish the strongest inducements to 
peace and order. Crimes and offenses committed in this 
district must be referred to the consideration and judg- 
ment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tribunals 
will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. While the 
General thus indicates his purpose to respect the liberties 
of the people, he wishes all to understand that armed in- 



204 0UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

surrection or forcible resistance to the law will be 
instantly suppressed by arms. 

By command of 

Major-General W. S. Hancock. 

A leading journal of the north, The Brooklyn Eagle, 
said of this action : 

"Probably no more astonished and delighted people 
could be found than the people of Louisiana and Texas 
when the purport of that order came to be understood. 
They had expected what they had before, a military dicta- 
tor. They had expected to be governed by orders in- 
stead of laws. General Hancock informed them that he 
did not propose to rule them by military orders at all. 
They had looked for a Caesar and they found in his stead an 
expounder and defender of the constitutional laws of the 
fathers of the Republic. The effect was electric," etc. 

Throughout the whole of General Hancock's command 
of the Fifth Military District, his course was uniformly 
consistent with the sentiments set forth in the order above 
quoted. Although in supreme command, he sustained 
the jurisdiction of the civil courts and the purity and in- 
dependence of elections by the people. He refused to 
organize military commission to supplant the judiciary of 
of the State and avoided all military interference with 
the administration of civil affairs. Under a rule so bene- 
ficent there was no necessity for the exercise of arbitrary 
power, for obedience to the laws was the homage the 
people voluntarily rendered to an administration so pure- 
ly and wisely devoted to the public good. The follow- 
ing are extracts from some of his orders covering the 
most important cases : 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 205 

ON THE STAY OF CIVIL PROCESS. 

The Hon. E. Heath, Mayor -of New Orlea?is. 

Sir : In answer to your communication of the 30th ult., 
requesting his intervention in staying proceedings in 
suits against the city on its notes, the Major-General 
commanding directs me to respectfully submit his views 
to you on that subject, as follows : Such a proceeding on 
his part would, in fact, be a stay-law in favor of the city 
of New Orleans, which, under the Constitution, could 
not be enacted by the Legislature of the State ; and in 
his judgment such a power ought to be exercised by him, 
if at all, only in case of the most urgent necessity. It 
does not, therefore, seem to the Major-General com- 
manding that there is an urgent necessity which would 
justify his interference in the manner required. Besides, 
the expediency of such a measure is more than question- 
able ; for, instead of reinstating the confidence of the 
public in city notes, it would probably destroy it 
altogether. 

REVOKING A SUMMARY REMOVAL MADE BY HIS 
PREDECESSOR. 

.2. Paragraph 3 of special orders No. 188 from these 
headquarters, dated November 16, 1867, issued by Brevet 
Major-General Mower, removing P. R. O'Rourke, Clerk 
of Second District Court, Parish of Orleane, for malfeas- 
ance in office, and appointing R. L. Shelly in his stead, 
is hereby revoked, and P. R. O'Rourke is reinstated in 
said office. If any charges are set up against the said 
O'Rourke, the judicial department of the Government is 
sufficient to take whatever action may be necessary in 
the premises. 

By command of 

Major-General Hancock. 

December 4, 1867. 



206 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

TO PREVENT MILITARY INTERFERENCE AT THE POLLS. 
****** 

IX. Military interference with elections, "unless it 
shall be necessary to keep the peace at the polls," is pro- 
hibited by law, and no soldiers will be allowed to appear 
at any polling place, unless as citizens of the State they 
are registered as voters, and then only for the purpose of 
voting ; but the commanders of posts will be prepared to 
act promptly if the civil authorities fail to preserve peace. 

December 18, 1867. 

DISCLAIMING JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS IN CIVIL CASES. 

Applications have been made at these headquarters 
implying an existence of arbitrary authority in the com- 
manding general touching purely civil controversies. 

One petition solicits this action, another that, and each 
refers to some special consideration of grace or favor 
which he supposes to exist and which should influence 
this department. 

The number of such applications and the waste of time 
they involve, make it necessary to declare that the ad- 
ministration of civil justice appertains to the regular 
courts. The rights of litigants do not depend on the 
views of the general ; they are to be adjudged and set- 
tled according to the laws. 

By command of 

Major-General Hancock. 
January 1, 1868. 

THE LETTER TO GOVERNOR PEASE, OF TEXAS. 

On the great and the overshadowing question of the 
restoration of the southern States, General Hancock was 
equally specific and clear in his letter of March 9, 1868, 
to Governor Pease, of Texas. Governor Pease having 
addressed a letter to General Hancock commenting on 
order No. 40, the General replied in his own defense in 



LIFE OF W1NFIELD S. HANCOCK. 207 

an able state paper, of which the following are extracts : 

" As respects the issue between us, any question as to 
what ought to have I en done has no pertinence. You 
admit the act of Congress authorizes me to try an offender 
by military commission or allow the local civil tribunals to 
try, as I deem best ; and you cannot deny the act ex- 
pressly recognizes such local civil tribunals as legal au- 
thorities for the purpose specified. When you contend 
there are no legal local tribunals for any purpose in Tex- 
as, you must either deny the plain reading of the act of 
Congress or the power of Congress to pass the act. 

You next remark that you dissent from my declaration 
'that the country (Texas) is in a state of profound peace,' 
and proceed to state the grounds of your dissent. They 
appear to me not a little extraordinary. I quote your 
words : 'It is true there no longer exists here (Texas) 
any organized resistance to the authority of the United 
States ; but a large majority of the white population who 
participated in the late rebellion are embittered against 
the Government and yield to it an unwilling obedience.' 
Nevertheless you concede they do yield it obedience. 
You proceed : 

None of this class have any affection for the Govern- 
ment, and very few any respect for it. They regard the 
legislation of Congress on the subject of reconstruction 
as unconstitutional and hostile to their interests, and con- 
sider the Government now existing here under authority 
of the United States as an usurpation of their rights. 
They look on the emancipation of their late slaves and 
the disfranchisement of a portion of their own class as an 
act of insult and oppression.' 

And this is all you have to present for \ roof that war 
and not peace prevails in Texas ; and hence it becomes 
my duty — so you suppose — to set aside the local civil tri- 
bunals and enforce the penal code against citizens by 
means of military commissions. My dear sir, I am not a 
lawyer, nor has it been my business, as it may have been 



2o8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

yours, to study the philosophy of statecraft and politics. 
But I may lay claim, after an experience of more than 
half a lifetime, tc some poor knowledge of men and some 
appreciation of what is necessary to social order and 
happiness. And for the future of our common country, 
I could devoutly wish that no great number of our people 
have yet fallen in with the views you appear to entertain. 
Woe be to us whenever it shall come to pass that the 
power of the magistrate, civil or military, is permitted to 
deal with the mere opinions or teelings of the people. It 
would be difficult to show that the opponents of the Gov- 
ernment in the days of the elder Adams, or Jefferson, or 
Jackson, exhibited for it either 'affection or 'respect.' 
You are conversant with the history of our past parties and 
political struggles touching the legislation on alienage, 
sedition, the embargo, national banks, our wars with Eng- 
land and Mexico, and cannot be ignorant of the fact that 
for one party to assert that a law or system of legislation 
is unconstitutional, oppressive and usurpative is not a 
new thing in the United States. That the people of Texas 
consider acts of Congress unconstitutional, oppressive or 
insulting to them is of no consequence to the matter in 
hand. The President of the United States has announced 
his opinion that these acts of Congress are unconstitutional. 
The Supreme Court, as you are aware, not long ago de- 
cided unanimously that a certain military commission 
was unconstitutional. Our people everywhere, in every 
State, without reference to the side they took during the 
rebellion, differ as to the constitutionality of these acts 
of Congress. How the matter really is, neither you or I 
may dogmatically affirm. I am confident you will not 
commit your serious judgment to the proposition that 
any amount of discussion, or any sort of opinions, how- 
ever unwise in your judgment, or any assertion or feel- 
ing, however resentful or bitter, not resulting in a breach 
of law, can furnish justification for your denial that pro- 
found peace exists in Texas. You might as well deny 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 209 

that profound peace exists in New York, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, California, Ohio and Kentucky, where a ma- 
jority of the people differ with a minority on these ques- 
tions ; or that profound pe,ace exists in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, or the Senate at Washington, or in the Su- 
preme Court, where all these questions have been re- 
peatedly discussed and parties respectfully and patiently 
heard. 

You next complain that in parts of the State (Texas) 
it is difficult to enforce the criminal laws, that sheriffs fail 
to arrest, that the grand jurors will not always indict, that 
in some cases the military, acting in aid of the civil au- 
thorities, have not been able to execute the process of 
the courts; that petit jurors have acquitted persons ad- 
judged guilty by you, and that other persons charged 
with offences have broke jail and fled from prosecution. 
I know not how these things are, but admitting your repre- 
sentations literally true, if for such reasons I should set 
aside the local civil tribunals and order a military com- 
mission, there is no place in the United States where it 
might not be done with equal propriety. It is rather 
more than hinted in your letter that there is no local State 
government in Texas and no local laws outside of the 
acts of Congress which I ought to respect, and that I 
should undertake to protect the rights of persons and 
property in my own way and in an arbitrary manner. If 
such be your meaning, I am compelled to differ with you. 
After the abolition of slavery (an event which I hope no 
one now regrets), the laws of Louisiana and Texas exist- 
ing prior to the rebellion, and not in conflict with the acts 
of Congress, comprised a vast system of jurisprudence, 
both civil and criminal. I am satisfied, from represen- 
tations of persons competent to judge, they are as perfect 
a system of laws as may be found elsewhere, and better 
suited than any other to the condition of this people, for 
by them they have long been governed. Why should it 
be supposed Congress has abolished these laws ? Why 



210 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

should any one wish to abolish them? Let us for a 
moment suppose the whole civil code annulled, and that 
I am left, as commander of the Fifth Military District, 
the sole fountain of law and justice. This is the position 
in which you would place me. 

" I am now to protect all rights and redress all wrongs. 
How is it possible for me to do it ? Innumerable ques- 
tions arise, of which I am not only ignorant, but to the 
solution of which a military court is entirely unfitted. 
One would establish a will, another a deed ; or the 
question is one of succession, or partnership, or descent 
or trust ; a suit of ejectment or claim to chattels ; or the 
application may relate to robbery, theft, arson or murder. 
How am I to take the first step in any such matter? If 
I turn to the acts of Congress I find nothing on the sub- 
ject. I dare not open the authors on the local code, for 
it has ceased to exist. And you tell me that in this per- 
plexing condition I am to furnish, by dint of my own 
hasty and crude judgment, the legislation demanded by 
the vast and manifold interests of the people ! I repeat, 
sir, that you and not Congress are responsible for the 
monstrous suggestion that there are no local laws or 
institutions here to be respected by me, outside the acts 
of Congress. I say, unhesitatingly, if it were possible 
that Congress should pass an act abolishing the local 
codes for Louisiana and Texas — which I do not believe 
— and it should fall to my lot to supply their places with 
something of my own, I do not see how I could do better 
than follow the laws in force here prior to the rebellion, 
excepting whatever therein shall relate to slavery. You 
are pleased to state that 'since the publication of (my) 
General Order No. 40 there has been a perceptible in- 
crease of crime and manifestation of hostile feeling 
towards the Government and its supporters,' and add 
that it is 'an unpleasant duty to give such a recital of the 
condition of the country. 

"You will permit me to say that I deem it impossible 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 211 

the first of these statements can be true, and that I do 
very greatly doubt the correctness of the second. * * 
But what was Order No. 40, and how could it have the 
effect you attribute to it? It sets forth that 'the great 
principles of American liberty are still the inheritance of 
this people, and ever should be ; that the right of trial by 
jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the 
freedom of speech, and the natural rights of person and 
property must be preserved.' Will you question the 
truth of these declarations ? Which one of these great 
principles of liberty are you ready to deny and repudi- 
ate? Whoever does so, avows himself the enemy of 
human liberty and the advocate of despotism." 

General Hancock left New Orleans at his own request. 
The General-in-Chief of the Army having been given 
unconstutional control over matters in the South, supe- 
rior to the prerogatives of the President, who chose to 
submit to that domination, Hancock applied to be 
relieved, desiring to avoid any futher connection with 
political complications. He was then, March, 1868, 
assigned to the command of the Military Division of the 
Atlantic, with headquarters at New York. In the Na- 
tional Democratic Convention of that year, although 
himself not an aspirant for the place, he received nearly 
a controlling vote for the nomination for President of the 
United States. He remained in New York until he was 
assigned to the Department of Dakota, with head-quar- 
ters at St. Paul, Minn., in November, 1869. After the 
death of General Meade he was recalled from the North- 
west and placed in command of the Military Division of 
the Atlantic, with head-quarters at New York, in which 
position he now remains. At the Pennsylvania State 
Convention in 1869, he was tendered by his numerous 



212 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

friends the Democratic nomination for Governor of his 
native State — an honor which he then and has since 
declined. In the National Democratic Convention of 
1872 he was again prominently mentioned for President 
of the United States, until it was decided to nominate a 
Liberal-Republican. In the Convention of 1876, on the 
first informal ballot, General Hancock received seventy- 
five votes, and was third on the list of nominees. On 
the 24th of June, 1880, he was unanimously nominated, 
by the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati, as 
their Candidate for President. 

His letter of acceptance, the terse periods of which, in 
connection with its lofty spirit of patriotism, cannot fail 
to add largely to his reputation as a statesman, may be 
found standing by itself on another page of this book.* 

After the nomination at Cincinnati, the story was 
started and on the wings of rumor went through the 
country that General Hancock had written to General 
Sherman in 1876, a letter in regard to the action which 
he held should be taken by army officers in certain con- 
tingencies of a presidential election, and that the same 
contained treasonable sentiments. Of course such an 
allegation would be believed by few, but it was deemed 
best that the letter should be published, and it was given 
to the New York press by permission of General Sher- 
man. The following is its text in full : 

Carondelet Post Office, ) 
St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 28 1876. ) 

My Dear General — Your favor of the 4th inst. reached me in New 
York on the 5th, the day before I left for the West. I intended to reply 
to it before leaving, but cares incident to departure interfered. Then, 

* See page 162. 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 213 

again, since my arrival here I have been so occupied with personal affairs 
of a business nature, that I have deferred writing from day to day until 
this moment, and now I find myself in debt to you another letter in 
acknowledgment of your favor of the 17th, received a few days since. 

I have concluded to leave here on the 29th (to-morrow) P. M., so that I 
may 'be expected in New York on the 31st inst. It has been cold and 
dreary since my arrival here. I have worked " like a Turk " (I presume 
that means hard work) in the country, in making fences, cutting down 
trees, repairing buildings, &c, <xc., and am at least able to say that St. 
Louis is the coldest place in the winter, as it is the hottest in summer, of 
any that I have encountered in a temperate zone. I have known St. Louis 
in December to have genial weather throughout the month ; this Decem- 
ber has been frigid, and the river has been frozen more solid than I have 
ever known it. 

THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL ACTION. 

When I heard the rumor that I was ordered to the Pacific coast I thought 
it probably true, considering the past discussion on that subject. The 
possibilities seemed to me to point that way. Had it been true I should, 
of course, have presented no complaint nor made resistance of any kind. 
I would have gone quickly if not prepared to go promptly. I certainly 
would have been relieved from the responsibilities and anxieties concern- 
ing Presidential matters which may fall to those near the throne or in 
authority within the next four months, as well as from other incidents or 
matters which I could not control and the action concerning which I might 
not approve. I was not exactly prepared to go to the Pacific, however, 
and I therefore felt relieved when I received your note informing me that 
there was no truth in the rumors. 

Then I did not wish to appear to be escaping from responsibilities and pos- 
sible dangers which may cluster around military commanders in the East, 
especially in the critical period fast approaching. All's well that ends well. 
The whole matter of the Presidency seems to me simple and to admit of a 
peaceful solution. The machinery for such a contingency as threatens to 
present itself has been all carefully prepared. It only requires lubrication, 
owing to disuse. The army should have nothing to do with the selection 
or inauguration of Presidents. The people elect the President. The 
Congress declares in a joint session who he is. We of the army have 
only to obey his mandates, and are protected in so doing only so far as 
they may be lawful. Our commissions express that. I like Jefferson's 
way of inauguration ; it suits our system. He rode alone on horseback to 
the Capitol (I fear it was the "Old Capitol "), tied his horse to a rail fence, 



214 0UR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

entered and was duly sworn, then rode to the Executive Mansion and 
took possession. He inaugurated himself, simply by taking the oath of 
office. There is no other legal inauguration in our system. The people 
or politicians may institute parades in honor of the event, and public offi- 
cials may add to the pageant by assembling troops and banners, but all 
that only comes properly after the inauguration, not before; and it is not 
a part of it. Our system does not provide that one President should 
inaugurate another. There might be danger in that, and it was studiously 
left out of the charter. But you are placed in an exceptionally important 
position in connection with coming events. The Capital is in my jurisdic- 
tion also, but I am a subordinate, and not on the spot, and if I were, so 
also would my superior in authority, for there is the station of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief. 

WHO IS TO DECIDE. 
On the principle that a regularly elected President's term of office ex- 
pires with the 3d of March (of which I have not the slightest doubt), and 
which the laws bearing on the subject uniformly recognize, and in con- 
sideration of the possibility that the lawfully elected President may not 
appear until the 5th of March, a great deal of responsibility may necessa- 
rily fall upon you. You hold over ! You will have power and prestige to 
support you. The Secretary of War, too, probably holds over ; but if no 
President appears he may not be able to exercise functions in the name of 
a President, for his proper acts are those of a known superior — a lawful 
President. You act on your own responsibility and by virtue of a com- 
mission, only restricted by the law. The Secretary of War is the mouth- 
piece of a President. You are not. If neither candidate has a constitu- 
tional majority ot the Electoral College, or the Senate and House on the 
occasion of the count do not unite in declaring some person legally 
elected by the people, there is a lawful machinery already provided to 
meet that contingency and decide the question peacefully. It has not 
been recently used, no occasion presenting itself; but our forefathers pro- 
vided it. It has been exercised, and has been recognized and submitted 
to as lawful on every hand. That machinery would probably elect Mr. 
Tilden President and Mr. Wheeler Vice-President. That would be right 
enough, for the law provides that in a failure to elect duly by the people, 
the House shall immediately elect the President and the Senate the Vice- 
President. Some tribunal must decide whether the people have duly 
elected a President. I presume, of course, that it is the joint affirmative 
action of the Senate and House, or why are they present to witness the 
count if not to see that it is fair and just ? If a failure to agree arises 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 215 

between the two bodies, there can be no lawful affirmative decision that 
the people have elected a President, and the House must then proceed to 
act, not the Senate. The Senate elects vice-presidents, not presidents. 
Doubtless in case of a failure by the House to elect a President by the 4th 
of March, the President of the Senate (if there be one) would be the 
legitimate person to exercise Presidential authority for the time being, or 
until the appearance of a lawful President, or for the time laid down in the 
Constitution. Such courses would be peaceful, and, I have a firm belief, 
lawful. 

I have no doubt Governor Hayes would make an excellent President. 
I have met him and know him. For a brief period he served under my 
command, but as the matter stands I can't see any likelihood cf his being 
duly declared elected by the people, unless the Senate and House come to 
be in accord as to that fact, and the House would, of course, not otherwise 
elect him. What the people want is a peaceful determination of this mat- 
ter, — as fair a determination as possible, and a lawful one. No other 
determination could stand the test. The country, if not plunged into 
revolution, would become poorer day by day, business wou'd languish, 
and our bonds would come home to find a depreciated market. 

TROOPS OUT OF PLACE. 

I was not in favor of the military action in South Carolina recently, and 
if General Ruger had telegraphed to me or asked for advice, I would have 
advised him not under any circumstances to allow himself or his troops to 
determine who were the lawful members of a State Legislature. I could 
not have given him better advice than to refer him to the special message 
of the President in the case of Louisiana some time before. 

But in South Carolina he had had the question settled by a decision of 
the Supreme Court of the State — the highest tribunal which had acted on 
the question — so that his line of duty seemed even to be clearer than the 
action in the Louisiana case. If the federal court had interfered and 
overruled the decision of the State court, there might have been a doubt 
certainly; but the federal court only interfered to complicate — not to 
decide or overrule. 

Anyhow it is no business of the army to enter upon such questions, and 
even if it might be so in any event, if the civil authority is supreme, as the 
constitution declares it to be, the South Carolina case was one in which 
the army had a plain duty. 

Had General Ruger asked me for advice, and if I had given it, I should 
of course have notified you of my action immediately, so that it could 
have been promptly overruled if it should have been deemed advisable by 
10 



2l6 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

you or other superior in authority. General Ruger did not ask for my 
advice, and I inferred from that and other facts that he did not desire it, 
or that, being in direct communication with my military superiors at the 
seat of government, who were nearer to him in time and distance than I 
was — he deemed it unnecessary. As General Ruger had the ultimate 
responsibility of action and had really the greater danger to confront in 
the final action in the matter, I did not venture to embarrass him by sug- 
gestions. He was a department commander, and the lawful head of the 
military administration within the limits of the department ; but besides, 
I knew that he had been called to Washington for consultation before 
taking command, and was probably aware of the views of the administra- 
tion as to civil affairs in his command ; I knew that he was in direct com- 
munication with my superiors in authority in reference to the delicate 
subjects presented for his consideration, or had ideas of his own which he 
believed to be sufficiently in accord with the views of our common superi- 
ors, to enable him to act intelligently according to his judgment and 
without suggestions from those not on the spot and not as fully acquainted 
with the facts as himself. He desired too, to be free to act, as he had 
the eventual greater responsibility, and so the matter was governed as 
between him and myself. 

ILLEGAL AND UNWISE. 

As I have been writing thus freely to you, I may still further unbosom 
myself by stating that I have not thought it lawful or wise to use federal 
troops in such matters as have transpired east of the Mississippi within 
the last few months— save so far as they may be brought into action under 
the article of the constitution which contemplates meeting armed resist- 
ance, or invasion of a State, more powerful than the State authorities can 
subdue by the ordinary processes — and then only when requested by the 
Legislature, or, if it could not be convened in session, by the Governor, 
and when the President of the United States intervenes in that matter it 
is a state of war, not peace. 

The army is laboring under disadvantages, and has been used unlaw- 
fully at times in the judgment of the people (in mine certainly), and we 
have lost a great deal of the kindly feeling which the community at large 
once felt for us. " It is time to stop and unload." 

Officers in command of troops often find it difficult to act wisely and 
safely when superiors in authority have different views of the law from 
theirs, and when legislation has sanctioned action seemingly in conflict 
with the fundamental law, and they generally defer to the known judgment 
of their superiors. Yet the superior officers of the army are so regarded 



LIFE OF WINFIELD S. HANCOCK. 217 

in such great crises, and are held to such responsibility, especially those at 
or near the head of it, that it is necessary on such momentous occasions to 
dare to determine for themselves what is lawful and what is not lawful 
under our system, if the military authorities should be invoked, as might 
possibly be the case in such exceptional times when there exist such diver- 
gent views as to the correct result. The army will suffer from its past 
action if it has acted wrongfully. Our regular army has little hold upon 
the affections of the people of to-day, and its superior officers should cer- 
tainly, as far as lies in their power, legally and with righteous intent, aim 
to defend the right, which to us is the LAW and the institution which they 
represent. It is a well-meaning institution, and it would be well if it 
should have an opportunity to be recognized as a bulwark in support of 
the rights of the people and of the law. I am, truly yours, 

WINFIRLD S. HANCOCK. 
To General W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding Army of the United States, 
Washington, D. C. 

All these are but straws telling which way the wind 
blows, in the habits and character of this remarkable man. 

The writing and compilation of this sketch has been a 
grateful task. The incidents of a long life of devotion 
to his country, in the field and the cabinet, would fill a 
volume. There has been no need of padding, to fill out 
the limits of the writer's space. There has been no neces- 
essity of magnifying the military achievements of its hero. 
The object in view, has been not to prepare a campaign 
document, glorifying a political candidate, but to compress 
into narrow limits all that was most salient and convenient 
for a short but accurate biography, and fortunately no 
space has been required for defense of personal character. 

General Hancock's military and civil career has thus 
been briefly reviewed. It only remains to say that in per- 
sonal appearance and physique, he is what the world 
would wish such a hero to be. Like Washington in many 
other respects, he is like him in stature ; standing six feet 



2l8 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

and one inch in height, and weighing about two hundred 
and thirty-five pounds. Although in his fifty- seventh year, 
he bears the appearance of a man of fifty. He is in robust 
health, and should it be his fortune, to be elected to the 
Presidency in the coming campaign, it is safe to prophesy 
that he will fill the position with the same honor to him- 
self, and the same benefit to his country, as has resulted 
from every position he has heretofore held, and that the 
record of his administration will contribute to American 
history, one of its most brilliant pages. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

LIFE OF WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 

William H. English, the nominee of the Democratic 
party for the Vice-Presidency, was born at Lexington, 
Scott County, Indiana, on August 27th, 1822. 




His father, Elisha G. English, was a Kentuckian by 
birth, and moved to Indiana in 181 8. 

Young English received his early education in the 
common schools of the region where he lived. He 
showed great diligence and perseverance in the prosecu- 



2 20 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

tion of his studies, and, under disadvantageous circum- 
stances, succeeded in preparing himself to enter college, 
taking a three years' course of study at South Hanover 
College. 

Immediately upon his graduation, he commenced the 
study of law, and when only eighteen years of age was 
admitted to practice. He however exhibited a fondness 
for politics, and took an active part in all the campaigns 
of the day. While still in his teens, he was elected a 
delegate from Scott County to the Democratic State 
Convention, at Indianapolis. He was very active as a 
stump-speaker, in the famous "hard-cider and log-cabin" 
campaign of 1840. President Tyler appointed him to 
his first political office — that of postmaster of his native 
town. In 1843 he was elected Clerk of the Indiana 
House of Representatives, and in 1845 President Polk 
gave him a position in the Treasury Department, in 
recognition of his services during the Presidential cam- 
paign, a position which he held for four years. 

In 1850, Mr. English was made Secretary of the 
Indiana Constitutional Convention, and the good impres- 
sion he made during its session, was instrumental in 
procuring his election as a Representative to the first 
Legislature chosen under the New Constitution. In the 
Democratic caucus on the Speakership, Mr. English 
received 22 votes, to 31 for John W. Davis, who had 
been Speaker of the XXIX Congress. Mr. Davis sub- 
sequently resigned, owing to a disagreement with the 
House, and Mr. English, although but twenty-nine years 
old, was at once chosen to succeed him. So well did he 
discharge the duties of this office, that not an appeal was 
taken from his decision. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. 221 

In 1852, Mr. English was elected to Congress, and was 
re-elected in 1854, '56 and '58, each time by an increased 
majority. The eight years of his Congressional career 
occurred during a most exciting period of our history, 
and he did his full share of the work which Congress 
was called upon to perform. As a member of the Com- 
mittee on Territories, at the time of the introduction 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, he submitted a minority 
report, containing the idea of "popular sovereignty." 
He was one of the few members from the Free States 
who survived the storm which descended on all who had 
sustained that bill. 

Mr. English firmly opposed the admission of Kansas 
under the Lecompton Constitution, until that instrument 
had been voted upon by the people. In this he was 
opposed to the policy of his party upon that measure. 

For several years he was a Regent of the Smithsonian 
Institution, and made an able speech inCongress in de- 
fence of its management. 

Mr. English, though desirous of making concessions 
to the South, was always opposed to secession, and com- 
batted it on the floor of Congress, assuring the South 
that he and his constituents would "keep step to the 
music of the Union." 

In 1864, at the Congressional Convention, Mr. English, 
as Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, prepared 
and submitted the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 

" That we are now, as we ever have been, unqualifiedly 
in favor of the Union of the States under the Constitu- 
tion, and stand ready, as we have ever stood heretofore, 



222 OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

to do everything that loyal and true citizens should do to 
maintain that Union under the Constitution, and to hand 
it down to our children unimpaired as we received it 
from our fathers." 

In 1863, he embarked in a banking enterprise, with J. 
F. D. Lanier, of New York, and Geo. W. Riggs, of 
Washington, establishing the First National Bank of 
Indianapolis, to which city he at once removed, and 
where he has since resided. He has proved himself a 
skillful financier, and has succeeded in amassing a large 
fortune, estimated at several millions of dollars. He has 
always been a consistent hard-money man, and has 
energetically, both in public and private, opposed infla- 
tion and unredeemable currency. 

Mr. English was married to Miss Emma M. Jackson, 
of Virginia. Two children have been born to them : one 
is W. E. English, now a member of the Indiana Legis- 
lature, and the other the wife of Dr. Willoughby Wal- 
ling, of Louisville, Kentucky. Mrs. English died in 1876. 

In 1877, Mr. English retired from active business, and 
has since then lived in leisure at his elegant residence in 
Indianapolis. 

While not a brilliant debater, Mr. English is noted for 
his logic and practical common sense. In personal inter- 
course, he is dignified and retiring. In the private and 
social relations of his life, he stands above reproach. He 
is above the average height, with an erect, well-made fig- 
ure. His forehead is high, and his features regular. A 
man who has gained unqualified success in every position 
of his life, it is to be said of him that this is the result of an 
ability which has been equally beyond question. 



PART II. 



COMPLETE 

Political Compendium 

WITH A REVIEW OF THE 

Colonial and Constitutional Governments, 



OUR NATIONAL PROGRESS, 

INCLUDING 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OP ALL THE PRESIDENTS J TERMS 
OP OFFICE ; CABINETS OF EACH ; EXISTING GOVERNMENT; 
MEMBERS OF CABINET ; MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY; 
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, MINISTERS, GOVERNORS AND 
OTHER OFFICIALS ; THEIR DUTIES, SALARIES AND 
TERMS OF OFFICE ; DECLARATION OF INDE- 
PENDENCE; ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION; 
CONSTITUTION IT. S., WITH AMENDMENTS; 
IMPORTS, EXPORTS AND ANNUAL EX- 
PENDITURES ; CENSUS, WITH NU- 
MEROUS TABLES OF STATISTICS. 
ALSO 

THE POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTES FOR PRESI- 
DENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT SINCE 1789, WITH THE 
FULL POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTE BY STATES AT 
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 1376, AND THE RE- 
SULTS OF RECENT STATE ELECTIONS. 



By FRANK d BLISS, 

Of the New York Bar, Author of " Citizens' Manual," &°c. 



WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS & ENGRAVINGS. 



NEWARK, N. J.: 
F. C. BLISS & COMPANY. 

18S0. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, 

By F. C. BLISS & COMPANY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington: 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the compilation of this little work, the Author has col- 
lected together the most important facts, and statistics, relat- 
ing to the Political History of the country. 

In its arrangement he has adopted the simplest form ; that 
of placing events as much as possible in their chronological 
order, commencing with the Colonial Government, and bring- 
ing it down to the present time ; introducing the Constitution, 
Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, &c, 
in their appropriate places. 

In preparing the Biographical Sketches of the Presidents, 
and of the Candidates recently nominated for the Presidency 
and Vice-Presidency, he has endeavored to do equal justice 
to all, giving the facts, without favor or prejudice, and not at 
all biassed by party views or interest. The Statistical matter 
has been obtained from reliable and official sources, and great 
pains has been taken to make it correct in every particular. 

In presenting the work to the public, the Author trusts it will 
be found very useful asa book of reference to all, and especially 
to those, who may not have access, at all times, to large libra- 
ries, where the facts herein stated might be obtained, though 
not without much trouble. 

It is essential to the very existence and duration of our Po- 
litical Institutions, that the people take a lively interest in 
our public concerns. They should become thoroughly in- 
structed in the Political History of the country; the Princi- 
ples of the Government, the Character and Qualifications of 



iv INTRODUCTION. 

the Candidates ; and in this connection, we mast not forget 
that a rumor does not prove a fact, a simple fact does not 
prove a theory, nor a mere caricature, in an illlustrated news- 
paper, prove a man to he either a simpleton, or a knave. 

In a free government, like ours, there will naturally arise, 
at least two great and leading divisions. Men differently ed- 
ucated, and looking at questions from different standpoints, 
even retaining their integrity, will widely bnt honestly differ 
in their opinions on questions constantly arising; hence 
there ever will be Cliques, Parties, and Factions. 

No Party or Faction should receive the continued confi- 
dence and support of an American Citizen, unless first, its 
principles are sound and correct, and second, unless it presents 
as its candidates to represent those principles, and to occupy 
its places of trust and emolument, honest, trust-worthy, and 
capable men. 



CONTENTS. 



Papp. 

Ouk Republic 15 

Its Present Area, and How Acquired 15 

Its Population at Each Census Period 16 

Table of Population of States at Different Periods 1? 

Oui: Republican Government 18 

The Colonial or Revolutionary Government 19 

Declaration of Independence 21 

Colonial Government under the Confederation 27 

Articles of Confederation 2S 

Serious Defects in this Form of Govennment 39 

Table, Showing the Inequality of Representation 40 

The Foreign Debt before the Constitution 41 

"Why, and How TnE Constitution was Adopted 42 

General Index to the Constitution 43 

Constitution of the United States 45 

Amendments to the Constitution 60 

The Government Under the Constitution 73 

When Ratified by the Original States 73 

The Executive Branch of the Government 75 

The President and Vice-President, How Elected 75 

Presidential Electors, How Appointed 77 

Table of Apportionment of Representatives 78 

Electoral Vote for Next Presidential Election 78 

The Cabinet Council TO 

Secretaries of Different Departments 79 

Their Official Ditties 80 

The Legislative Branch of the Government 81 

Senate and House of Representatives 81 

Qualifications of Senators and Representatives SI 

The Judicial Department of the Government 82 

The Federal Courts of the United States 82 

Judges of Federal Courts, How Appointed 83 



v i CONTEXTS. 

Table, showing Salaries of Federal Officers 84 

Presidents of the Continental Congress S4 

Signers of the Declaration of Independence 85 

Table, giving Time of Their Births and Deaths 85 

Presidents of the United States 86 

Vice-Presidents of the United States 8;*> 

Secretaries of State, and of the Treasury 8T 

Secretaries of Other Departments c 3 

Chief Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court S'J 

Associate Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court 89 

Speakers of the House of Representatives 90 

Existing Government of the United States 03 

Names of Different Officials 93 

Present Senators, Duration of Term, &c 95 

Present Representatives, Duration of Term, &c 97 

Governments of the Several States 101 

Governors of the Several States, and their Salaries, &c 101 

When Legislatures Meet— Sessions— State Elections 102 

Results at the Latest State Elections 103 

Majorities on Joint Balllot, in the Several Legislatures 107 

Washington's Administration, Cabinet, &c 109 

Financial Condition of the Country 109 

Table of Annual Imports, Exports, Expenditures and Debt 109 

Biographical Sketch of George Washington 110 

Administration of John Adams, and Cabinet Ill 

Table of Annual Imports, Exports, Expenditures and Debt 114 

Biographical Sketch of John Adams 115 

Jefferson's Administration, Cabinet, &c 118 

Table of Annual Exports, Imports, Expenditures and Debt 118 

Biographical Sketch of Thomas Jefferson 119 

Madison's Administration, Cabinet, &c 122 

Table Showing the Financial Condition of the Country 122 

Biographical Sketch of James Madison 123 

Monroe's Administration, Cabinet, &c 126 

Table Showing the Financial Condition of the Country 126 

Biographical Sketch of James Monroe 127 

Administration of John Quincy Adams, Cabinet, &c 130 

Table of Finances, Debt, &c 130 



CONTENTS. Vli 

Biographical Sketch of John Q. Adams i:<l 

Jackson's Administration, Cabinet, &o 134 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &c 134 

Biographical Sketch of Andrew Jackson 135 

Van Buren's Aministration, Cabinet, &o 140 

Table of Expenditures, Debt, &c 140 

Biographical Sketch of Martin Van Buren 141 

Harrison's and Tyler's Administrations, Cabinets, &o 144 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &c 144 

Biographical Sketch of William H. Harrison 145 

Biographical Sketch of John Tyler, 147 

Administration of James K. Polk, Cabinet, &c • 150 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &c 150 

Biographical Sketch of James K. Polk 151 

Taylor's and Fillmore's Administrations 154 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &c 154 

Biographical Sketch of Zachary Taylor 155 

Biographical Sketch of Millard Fillmore 157 

Administration of Franklin Pierce, Cabinet, &c ' 160 

Table, Showing Financial Condition of Country 160 

Biographical Sketch of Franklin Pierce 161 

Buchanan's Administration, Cabinet, &c 164 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &c 164 

Biographical Sketch of James Buchanan 165 

Lincoln's Administration, Cabinet, &o 168 

Table of Expenditures, Debt, &c 168 

Biographical Sketch of Abraham Lincoln 169 

Johnson's Administration, Cabinet, &c 173 

Table of Annual Expenditures, Debt, &o 173 

Biographical Sketch of Andrew Johnson 174 

Grant's Administration, Cabinet, &c 177 

Financial Condition of the Country 177 

Biographical Sketch of Ulysses S. Grant 178 

Electoral Vote for President and Vice-President,1789-1797.. 184 

1797-1809.. 185 

1809-1817.. 186 

1817-1829.. 187 

" ' ' 1829-1841.. 188 



Vlil CONTENTS. 

Electoral Vote for President and Vice-President, 1841-1853. .189 

" " " " 1853-1S65..190 

" " " " " " 1865 1877.. 191 

Table op the Popular and Electoral Vote op 1876 by States . 192 

Biographical Sketch op Rutherford B. Hayes 193 

Biographical Sketch of William A. Wheeler 197 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 
The National Capitol Frontispiece 

Bill of Credit or Continental Monet 20 

Independence Square— Face Page 21 

Seal of the State Department 81) 

The National Senate Chamber— Face Page 81 ~" 

Hall of the House of Representatives— Face Page 100 - 

Portrait of George Washington 110 

" " John Adams 115 

" " ThomAs Jefferson 119 

" " James Madison 123 

" " James Monroe 127 

'* " John Q.Adams 131 

" " Andrew Jackson 135 

" " Martin Van Buren 141 

" " William H. Harrison 145 

" " John Tyler 147 

" " James K. Polk 151 

" " Zachary Taylor 155 

" " Millard Filmore 157 

" " Franklin Pierce K>1 

" " James Buchanan 165 

Lincoln's Inauguration— Face Page fa, 

Medal from the French Democrats 170 

Medal to Mrs. Lincoln 171 

Portrait of Andrew Johnson 174 

" " Ulysses S. Grant 178 

The White House from Pennsylvania Avenue— Face Page 192 

Portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes 194 iS 

" " William A. Wheeler 197 



INDEX. 



Area of the U. S., 15 ; Its growth, 
16 ; Of the several States, 102. 

Articles of Confederation, 28. 

Amendments to the Constitution. 
60, 71, 74. 

Apportionment of Representatives 
77, 78. 

Attorneys— General, 80, 84, 89. 

Arkansas, 17, 101, 102, 107. 

Alabama, 17, 101, 102, 107. 

Adams, John, Life of, 115— Cabinet, 
&C..114. Ills Administration, 113. 

Adams, John Q., Life of, 131— Cabi- 
net &c., 130 — His Administra- 
tion, 129. 



B 



Branches of the Government, 75, 
81, 82. 

Biographical Sketch of Washing- 
ton, 110. 

Biographical Sketch of John Ad- 
ams, 115. 

Biographical Sketch of Jefferson, 
119. 

Biographical Sketch of Madison, 
123. 

Biographical Sketchjof Monroe, 125. 

Biographical Sketch of J. Q. Ad- 
ams, 131. 



Biographical Sketch of Andrew 

Johnson, 135. 
Biographical Sketch of Van Buren, 

135. 
Biographical Sketch of Harrison, 

145. 
Biographical Sketch of Tyler, 147. 
Biographical Sketch of Polk, 151. 
Biographical Sketch of Taylor, 155. 
Biographical Sketch of Fillmore, 

157. 
Biographical Sketch of Pierce, 161. 
Biographical Sketch of Buchanan, 

165. 
Biographical Sketch of Lincoln, 169. 
Biographical Sketch of Johnson, 

174. 
Biographical Sketch of Grant, 178. 
Buchanan, James, Life of, 165. 



C 



Country— Its Growth and Popula- 
tion, 16, 17. Existing Govern- 
ment, 92. 

Colonial Government, 19, 20. 

Congress, Continental, 20. Presi- 
dents of, 84. 



INDEX. 



Confederation, Articles of, 28. 
Confederate Government— Serious 

defects in, 39. 
Convention of Delegates, to form 

Constitution, 42 
Constitution of the United States, 

43. Government under, 73. 

When Ratified by the States, 73. 

Amendments to, 45, 60, 71, 74. 
Cabinet— Whom composed of, 79. 
Cabinet of the Presidents, 109, 114, 

118, 122, 126, 130, 134, 140, 144, 150, 

154, 160, 164, 168, 173, 177. 
Circuit Courts, U. S., 82. Supreme, 

82,93. 
California, 17, 101, 102, 107. 
Connecticut, 17, 101 102, 107. 



I) 



Declaration of Independence, 21. 
District Courts, U. S., 83. 
District Court Judges, 83. 
Delaware, 17, 101, 102, 104. 



E 



Executive branch of the Govern- 
ment, 75. 

Electors, Presidential, 75. 

Electors— How Appointed, 76. 

Electoral Vote, 78, 184—191. 

Existing Government, 93. 

Elections, Latest State, 103—107. 

Elections— When Held, 102. Presi- 
dential, 184—191. 



Expenditures of the Government, 
109, 114-118, 122, 126, 130, 134, 140, 
144, 150, 154, 160, 164, 168. 173, 177. 

Exports. See same pages as Ex- 
penditures. 



Florida, 17, 101, 102, 105. 



G 

Government, Our Republican, 18. 

Government, Colonial, 19. Serious 
Defects in, 39. 

Government Under tne Constitu- 
tion^. Existing, 93. 

Government— Executive Branch,75 
Legislative Branch, 81, Judicial 
Branch, 82. 

Government of the Several States, 
101,102. 

Georgia, 17, 101, 102, 105. 

Governors of States, 101 ; When 
Appointed, Duration of Term, 
Salaries, &c, 101. 

Grant, Ulysses S, Life of, 178 ; Cabi- 
net,!"" . 



H 

House of Representatives, 81,91,97. 
Harrison, Win. H., Life of, 145. 
Hayes, Rutherford B., Life of, 193 



Independence, Declaration of, 21. 

Indebtedness of the Country in 
1787, 41: at different periods, 
109, 114, 118, 122, 126, 130, 134, 140, 
144, 150, 154, 169, 164, 168, 173, 177. 

Interior, Secretary of, 80, 84, 89. 

Illinois, 17, 101, 102, 106. 



xu 



INDEX. 



Indiana, 17, 101. 102, 106. 
Iowa, 17, 101, 102, 106. 



Justices, U. S. Courts, 83, 84, 89. 
Judiciary, 82, 84, 89. 
Joint Ballot, Majorities on, 103. 
Jefferson, Thomas, Life of, 119; 

Cabinet, 118. 
Jackson, Andrew, Life of, 135 ; 

Cabinet, 134. 
Johnson, Andrew, Life of, 174 

Cabinet, 173 ; Impeachment, 175. 

K 

Kansas, 17, 102, 102, 107. 
Kentucky, 17, 101, 102, 106. 



Legislative Branch of Government 

81. 
Louisiana, 17, 101, 102, 105. 
Legislatures— When they Meet, 202. 
Lincoln, Abraham, Life of, 169 ; 

Cabinet, 168 ; Death of, 171. 



M 

Ministers, 84, 93, 94. 

Ministers, Table of Foreign and 

Kesident, 93. 
Maine, 17, 101, 103. 
Maryland, 17, 101, 102, 104. 
Massachusetts, 17, 101, 102, 103. 
Michigan. 17, 101, 102, 106. 
Minnesota, 17, 101, 102, 107. 
Mississippi, 17, 101 102 105 



Missouri, 17, 101, 102, 107. 

Madison, James, Life of, 123; Cabk 
net, &c, 122. 

Monroe, James, Life of, 127 ; Ad- 
ministration, 186. 

Medal from French Democrats, to 
Mrs. Lincoln, 170, 171. 



N 



National Constitution, 73. 

Navy, Secretary of 79 ; Salary, 84 

Table of these Officers, 88. 
Nebraska. 17, 101, 102, 107. 
Nevada, 17, 101,102, 107. 
New Hampshire, 17, 101, 102, 103. 
New Jersey, 17, 101, 102, 104. 
New York, 17, 101, 102, 103. 
North Carolina, 17, 101, 102, 105. 



O 

Ohio, 17, VA, 102, 106. 
Oregon, 17, 101, 102, 107. 



Population U S., a Census Period, 
16, 17. 

Population of the States, 17, 102. 

Powers of the Government, 72. 

President, 75, 84. Presidential Elec- 
tors, 75, 76, 77, 78. 

Postmaster General, 80, 84, 88. 

Presidents Continental Congress, 
84; List of, &c, 86; Salary, 84; 
Electoral Votes for, 184—191. 

Pennsylvania, 17, 101, 102, 104. 

Polk, James K, Life of, 151 ; Cabi- 
net, 150. 

Pierce, Franklin, Life of 161 ; Cabi- 
net, 150. 



INDEX. 



Xlll 



.Republic, Our, 15. 

Republican Government, 18 

Representative Table, under Con- 
federation, 40. 

Representatives, Apportionment 
of, 78, 82; How Elected, 81; 
Qualifications, 81 ; Salaries, 84 ; 
Names of present, 97. 

Rhode Island, 17, 101, 102, 103. 

Returns, State Elections, 103-107. 
Presidential Elections, 184-191. 



Secretary of State, 79, 84, 87, 93. 
Secretaries, Other, 79, 84, 87, 88, 93. 
Salaries of Federal Officers, 84. 
Senate, 81 ; Present Members, 95, 

96. 
Senators, Qualifications of, 81. 
Senators— How Classified, 81. 
Supreme Court, U. S., 82, 84,' 89. 
Signers Declaration Independence, 

85. 
Speakers House Representatives, 

90-92. 
States, Government of, 101, 102. 
State Elections, Results of, 103— 

107; Time of, 102. 
South Carolina, 17, 101, 103, 105. 



Treasury, Secretary of, 79 ; Salary, 

84. 
Table of Secretaries, 87, 88, 89. 
Tennessee, 17, 62, 103, 106. 
Texas, 17. 101.102, 105. 
Tyler, John, 147 ; Cabinet, &c, 114. 
Taylor, Zachary, Lif e of, 155 . 



U 



United States, Population, 16, 17. 



Vice-President— Qualifications and 
How Elected, 75; His Duties, 
75; Salary, 84; Table of Vice- 
Presidents, 86. 

Vermont, 17, 101, 102, 103. 

Virginia, 17, 101, 102, 104. 

Van Buren, Martin, Life of 141; 
Cabinet, 140. 

W 

War, Secretary of, 79; Salary, 84; 

Table of these Officers, 88. 
West Virginia, 17, 101, 102. 104. 
Wisconsin, 17, 101, 102, 106. 
Washington, George, Biograpical 

Sketch, 110; His Cabinet and 

Administration, 190. 
Wheeler. Wm. A., Life of, 197 



OUR REPUBLIC. 



The United States of America, is a Confederation of Sovereign 
States, and lies in the middle portion of the Western Hemisphere 
extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. Its greatest breadth 
from east to west is about 3,000 miles, and it has a coast line 
of 2,163 miles on the Atlantic, 1764 miles on the Gulf of 
Mexico, and 1,343 miles on the Pacific, embracing an area of 
3,5*73,372 square miles. 

In 1782, the Territories of the Confederation extended west- 
ward to the Mississippi, and northward to the great Lakes, 
giving a total area of about 800,000 square miles, but bj 
large acquisitions since made, it has reached its present size. 

ITS PRESENT ^REA HAS BEEN ACQUIRED AS FOLLOWS: 
Territory ceded by England in 1783, - - . 815,615 Square miles. 
Louisiana, as acquired from France in 1803, - - 930,928 
Florida as acquired from Spain in 1821, - . 59,268 
Texas as admitted to the Union in 1845, - - . 237,504 

Oregon by treaty in 1846, 280 425 

California taken from Mexico in 1847, - - . 649,762 
Arizonia from Mexico by treaty in 1854, - . 27,500 
Alaska from Russia by treaty in 1867, - - - 577,390 

Total present Area, 8,578,392 Square miles. 

The increase of the population, and the rapid growth and 
development of the country have been truly wonderful. In 
1620 there were but 300 white settlers in New England. Less 

15 



16 



OUK REPUBLIC. 



than 250 years ago, New York City was made up of a dozen 
log-cabins, and all the land now comprising the City and 
County of New York, was purchased for the small pittance of 
twenty-four dollars. 

Fifty years since, there were less than 5,000 white people in 
the vast region between Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean, 
while the population now exceeds 10,000,000. Chicago was 
then a mere trading-post of half a dozen huts. 

Sixty-five years ago, those immense lakes, Ontario, Michi- 
gan, Huron, and Superior, were entirely without commerce, 
and an Indian's canoe was about the only craft seen upon 
them ; but now, they are crowded thoroughfares, and the value 
of the traffic upon these waters, and navigable rivers, is not 
much less than nine hundred millions of dollars per annum. 

A few years since San Francisco was Mexican territory, with 
a handful of wild people and almost unknown. She sprang 
as if by magic into existence, and in the space of two years 
her population increased from 1,500 to nearly 60,000. One 
hundred years ago, we were but thirteen feeble Colonies, with 
but 3,000,000 of inhabitants, while we now comprise 38 free, 
sovereign, and independent States, having in addition, the Dis- 
trict of Columbia and 10 territories, with a population of 
about 40,000,000 of inhabitants. 



THE FOLLOWING TABLE WILL SHOW THE POPULATION OF THE 
COUNTRY, AT THE DIFFERENT CENSUS PERIODS, SINCE, AND IN- 
CLUDING 17^0. 



Census 
Tears. 


Whites. 


Free Colored. 


Slaves. 


Total. 


1790 


3,172,464 


59.466 


697.897 


3,929,827 


1800 


4.304,489 


108,395 


893,057 


5,305,941 


1810 


5.862,004 


186.446 


1.191.364 


7.239,814 


1820 


7.866.569 


233,524 


1.538.098 


9.633,191 


1830 


10.532,060 


319,599 


2.009.043 


12,866,020 


1840 


14,189,705 


386,292 


2.487,356 


17/>69,453 


1850 


19,630,738 


428,661 


3.204.089 


23.263,488 


I860 


26,957,171 


532.000 


3,953.760 


31,443,321 


1S70 


33.W.039 


4.88O.O09 




*38.555.9S3 



•This total includes 63,254 Chinese and 25,731 In. Hans. 



CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 

POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, 

ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 

184:0, 1850, 1860 & 1870. 



States and Territories. 


1S40. 


1850. 


1860. 


1870. 




590, 756 
97,574 


771,623 

209, 897 

92,597 

370,792 

91,532 

87,445 

906, 185 

851, 470 

988,416 

192,214 

982, 405 
517,762 
5S3, 169 
583,034 
994,514 
397, 654 
6,077 
606,526 
682,044 


964,201 
435,45(1 
379, 994 
460,117 
112,216 
140,421 

1,057,286 

1,711,951 

1,350,428 
674,913 
107,206 

1,155,684 
708,002 
628, 279 
687,049 

1,231,066 
749,113 
172,023 
791,305 

1,182,012 

28,841 

6,857 

326,073 

672,035 

3,880,735 
992, 622 

2,339,511 
52,465 

2,906,215 
174,620 
703,708 

1,109,801 
604,215 
315,098 

1,596,318 


996, 992 




484,471 




560, 247 




309,978 
78, 085 
54,477 

691,392 

476, 183 

685,866 

43,112 


537,454 




125,015 




187. 74S 




1,184,109 




2,539,891 




1,680,637 




1,191,792 




364,399 




779,828 
352,411 
5iil,793 
470,019 
737,699 
212,267 


1,321,011 




726,915 




626,915 




780,894 




1,457,351 

1,184,059 




439,706 




375,651 
383,702 


827,922 




1,721,295 




122,993 








42,491 




284,574 

373, 306 
2,428,921 

753,419 
1,519,467 


317,976 
489, 555 

3,097,394 
869,039 

1,980,329 
13, 294 

2,311,786 
147,545 
66S, 507 

1,002,717 
212,592 
314,120 

1,421,661 


318,300 




906, 096 


New York 


4,382,759 




1,071,361 


Ohio 


2, 665, 260 




90, 923 




1,724,033 
108, 830 
594, 398 
829, 210 


3,521,791 




217,353 




705, 606 




1,258,520 




818,579 




291,918 
1,239,797 


330,551 




1,225,163 




442,014 


Wisconsin 


30, 945 


305, 391 


775,881 


1,054,670 






Total States 


17,019,641 


23,067,262 


31,183,744 


38,113,253 




9,658 








34,277 

4,837 

75, 080 


39,864 








14, 181 




43,712 


51,687 


131,700 
14,999 










20,595 






61,517 
11,380 


93,516 
40, 273 
11,594 


91,874 


Utah 




86,786 






23,955 








9,113 




(», LOO 
















Totals 


17,069,453 


23,191,876 


31,443,321 


38,555,983 







18 OUK REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT. 



OUR REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT. 

The Government of the United States is the result of deep 
research, cool and calm deliberation, of great wisdom and 
sound judgment, and is probably the best ever formed by man. 

It was not brought about in a hurried manner, nor did it 
spring into existence, by reason of a combination of unfore- 
seen and fortuituos circumstances, which aroused the passions 
of the multitude, and led them to adopt a Republican Govern- 
ment more tyrannical than tyranny itself. 

Our government was based upon truth and justice, and the 
object of it was to establish justice, insure domestic tranquil- 
lity, provide for the common defence, promote the general wel- 
fare, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
posterity. 

The government and constitution being purely Democratic, 
the People are the Sovereigns. How much is expressed in 
those three words, " We, the People ;" that is, We, the Sover- 
eigns ; We, the Rulers ; We, the Law-Givers ; how expressive of 
majesty and power, and how insignificant do they make Kings 
and tyrants appear. The President, Vice President, Senators, 
Legislators, and all other officials are the mere agents and ser- 
vants of "We, the People," for they were created by, and for 
the people, and not the people for them. Whatever of power, 
whatever of authority, whatever of dignity they possess in 
their official stations, was delegated to them by the Sovereign 
People for the honor, prosperity, and happiness of the people 
themselves. 

What government, or constitution could be devised, more 
perfect than that, which puts it in the power of those who suf- 
fer from an unprincipled government officer, or from the effects 
of a mal-administration, to remove such, or prevent their con- 



THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 19 

tinuance, not by rash, passionate, and unlawful acts as in an- 
cient republics, but by such as are rational, deliberate, and 
constitutional. This could not be done under a tyrannical, 
despotic, or monarchial government, because the crown and 
scepter are hereditary. 



THE COLONIAL 

OR 

REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT. 

As early as October 1765, soon after the first encroachment 
had been made by the British Government upon our liberties, 
by the passage of the Stamp Act, a congress of delegates 
from the Colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- 
cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- 
land, and South Carolina, assembled in New York, and adopted 
a Declaration of Rights, asserting that the sole power ot 
taxation resided in the Colonial legislatures, and that the re_ 
strictions imposed upon them by the late acts of Parliament, 
were unjust and burdensome. An address to the King, and a 
petition to each house of Parliament were adopted. 

Subsequently, on the 4th day of September, 1774, a con- 
gress of delegates from all the Colonies excepting Georgia, as- 
sembled at Philadelphia, "with authority and direction to meet 
and consult together for the common welfare." Thus was or- 
ganized by the people, acting in their sovereign capacity, the 
first general, or National Government. 

The first, and most important of their acts, was a declara- 
tion, that in determining questions which should arise in this 
Congress, each Colony should have one vote. They also passed 



20 



THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 



a series of resolutions declaratory of their rights, and ap- 
pointed a committee to examine into their rights and griev- 
ances. 

This Continental Congress was continued during the revolu- 
tionary war, but finally it was superseded by the government 
formed under the Articles of Confederation. It was invested 
by the people with large discretionary powers, such as super- 
intending the affairs of the Union, organizing an army, regu- 
lating the land and naval forces, issuing bills of credit known 
as Continental money, contracting debts, and otherwise assum- 
ing all the prerogatives of an Independent Sovereignity. 




A BILL OF CttLLiT, OK CONILN'LNIAL MO^KY. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 21 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

[Ou Thursday the 4th day of July, 1TT6, Congress being in session in 
the great hall of the venerable State House, located in Independence 
Square, in Philadelphia, Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, reported that 
the committee appointed for that purpose had agreed to a declaration 
which they desired him to present, and which, having been read, waa 
agreed to as follows :— ] 

A DECLARATION 

BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN 
CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con- 
nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers 
of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws 
of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind requires that they should de- 
clare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are 
created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with 
certain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed ; that, whenever any 
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is 
the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to insti- 
tute a new government, laying its foundation on such princi- 
ples, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall 
seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Pru- 
dence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established, 
should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and ac 
cordingly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more 
disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right 
themselves bv abolishing the forms to which the are accu3- 



22 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

tomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, 
pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to re- 
duce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is 
their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new 
guards for their future security. Such has been the patient 
sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity 
which constrains them to alter their former systems of govern- 
ment. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a 
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in di- 
rect object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over 
these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a can- 
did world : 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate 
and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till 
his assent should be obtained ; and when so suspended, he has 
utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish 
the right of representation in the legislature ; a right inesti- 
mable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their pub- 
lic records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compli- 
ance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for op- 
posing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the 

people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to 
cause others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, 
incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at 
large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean 
time, exposed to all the danger of invasion from without, and 
convulsions within. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 23 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these 
states ; for that purpose, obstructing the laws for naturaliza- 
tion of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their 
migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropria- 
tions of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing 
ins assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the ten- 
ure of their offices, and the amount and paymeni of their 
S ilaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub- 
stance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, 
without the consent of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation ; 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment, for 
any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of 
these states ; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
jury , 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
oTsnces; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neign- 
boring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government 
and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an ex* 
ample and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute 
rule into these colonies-, 



24 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDANCE. 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the powers of our govern- 
ments ; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring them- 
selves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases what- 
soever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out ot 
his protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our 
towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mer- 
cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyr- 
anny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy 
scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally un- 
worthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the 
executions of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves 
by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has 
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the 
merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
undistinguished destruction, of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In everv stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for 
redress, in the most humble terms : our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose char- 
acter is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, 
is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British breth- 
ren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts 
made bv their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdic- 
tion over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances 
of our emigration and settlement here We have appealed to 
their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured 
them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDEM K. 25 

usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections 
and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice 
of justice and consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce 
in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold 
them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war — in 
peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS assembled, appeal- 
ing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our 
intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good 
people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That 
these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and 
Independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
to the British crown, and that all political connection between 
them and the State of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally 
dissolved; and that, as FREE AND INDEPENDENT 
STA TES, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, 
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts 
and things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. 
And, for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually 
pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred 
honor. 

The foregoing Declaration was, by order of Congress, en- 
grossed, and signed by the following members : 

JOHN HANCOCK. 

New Hampshire Connecticut. 

Josiah Bartl'ett, Roger Sherman, 

William Whipple, Samuel Huntington 

Matthew Thornton. William Williams, 

Oliver Wolcott. 
Rhode Island 
Stephen Hopkins, New York. 

William Ellert, William Floyd, 



26 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



Marylund. 
Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll, of Carroll- 
ton. 

Virginia. 
George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jun. 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. 
William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

South Carolina. 
Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Heyward, Jun. 
Thomas Lynch, Jun. 
Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. 
Button Gwinnent, 
Lyman Hall, 
George Walton. 



Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 

New Jersey. 
Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

Petiniijlvania. 
Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 
James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

Massachusetts Bay. 
Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 

Delaware. 
Caesar Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

[The original document containing the autographs of these venerated 
patriots, is carefully preserved in a glass case in the rooms of the Nation- 
al Institute at Washington. Charles Carroll, the last survivor of this 
noble band, departed this life in 1832 at the age of ninety years.] 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 

UNDER THE ARTICLES OE CONFEDERATION. 

In July 1775, previous to the Declaration of Independence, 
Dr. Franklin submitted to the consideration of Congress, a 
draft of confederation between the Colonies, but no action there- 
on seems to have been taken. 

On the 11th day of June 1776, it was resolved by Congress, 
that a committee should be appointed, to prepare the form of 
a confederation to be entered into between the Colonies, and 
the next day a committee was appointed, whi .i consisted of 
one member from each Colony. A report was thereafter made, 
and the subject from time to time debated, until the 15th of 
November 1777 when it was finally agreed to. 

These Articles however, were to be submitted to the legisla- 
tures of the States, and would not become conclusive until 
ratified by all the States through their delegates in Congress. 
Maryland for a long time positively refused the ratification, but 
finally was induced to rlo so, and her delegates signed the arti- 
cles on the 1st of March 1781, more than four years after Con- 
gress had submitted the same to the States. On the 2d of 
March Congress assembled under its new powers. 

[On the 9th of July, 1778, the Articles were signed by the delegates of 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. The ratification of 
New York was conditional that all the other States should ratify. 

The delegates from North Carolina signed the Articles on the 21st of 
July, 1778; those of Georgia on the 24th of same month ; those of New 
Jersey, November 26th., 1778 ; those of Delaware, on the 22d. of Febru- 
ary and 5th. of May, 1779 ; and those of Maryland, March 1st., 1731 ] 

27 



28 COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION 

Between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New Tori, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Caroli- 
na, and Georgia. 

Art. 1. The style of this confederacy shall be, " The United 
States of America." 

Art. 2. Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and in- 
dependence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is 
not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

Art. 3. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm 
league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, 
the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general 
welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all 
force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, 
on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence 
whatever. 

Art. 4. § 1. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual 
friendship and intercourse among the people of the different 
states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, 
—paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted— shall 
be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in 
the several States ; and the people of each State shall have free 
ingress and egress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy 
therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the 
same duties, impositions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants 
thereof respectively ; provided, that such restrictions shall not 
extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported in- 
to any State, to any other state, of which the owner is an in- 
habitant ; provided also, that no imposition, duties, or restric 
tion, shall be laid by any State on the property of the United 
States, or either of them. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 2y 

§2. If any person, guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, 
or other high misdemeanor, in any State, shall flee from justice,' 
and be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon the 
demand of the Governor or Executive power of the State from 
which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of his offence. 

§3. Full faith and credit shall be given, in each of these 
States, to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the 
courts and magistrates of every other State. 

Art. 5. §1. For the more convenient management of the gen- 
oral interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually 
appointed in such manner as the legislature of each State shall 
direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November in 
every year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its 
delegates,, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to 
send others in their stead, for the remainder of the year. 

§ 2. No State shall be represented in Congress by less than 
two, nor more than seven members ; and no person shall be 
capable of being a delegate for more than three years, in any 
term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be 
capable of holding any office under the United States, for which 
he, or any other for his benefit, receives any salary, fees, or 
emolument, of any kind. 

§ 3. Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meet- 
ing of the States, and while they act as members of the com- 
mittee of these States. 

§ 4. In determining questions in the United States in Con- 
gress assembled, each State shall have one vote. 

§ o. Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not 
be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Con- 
gress, and the members of Congress shall be protected in their 
persons from arrests and imprisonments during the time of 
their going to and from, and attendance on Congress, except 
for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 

Art. 6. § 1. No State, without the consent of the United 



30 ARTICLES OF CON FEDERATION. 

States in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or 
receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agree- 
ment, alliance, or treaty with any king, prince, or State, nor 
shall any person holding any office of profit, or trust under the 
United States, or any of them, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince or foreign State ; nor shall the United States in Con- 
gress assembled, or any of them, grant any title ot nobility. 

8 2. No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, 
confederation, or alliance whatever, between them, without the 
consent of the United States in Congress assembled, specifying 
accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered 
into, and how long it shall continue. 

§ 3. No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may 
interfere with any stipulations in treaties entered into by the 
United States, in Congress assembled, with any king, prince, or 
State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Con- 
gress to the courts of France and Spain. 

§ 4. No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace 
by any State, except such number only as shall be deemed 
necessary by the Untied States in Congress assembled, for the 
defence of such State, or its trade ; nor shall any body of forces 
be kept up by any State, in time of peace, except such number 
only as, in the judgment of the United States in Congress as- 
sembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts neces- 
sary for the defence of such State ; but every State shall always 
keep up a well regulated and diciplined militia, sufficiently 
armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have 
ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field-pieces and 
tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp 
equipage. 

§ 5. No State shall engage in any war without the consent 
of the United States in Congress assembled, unless such Stat© 
be actually Invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain 
advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 31 

to invade such State, and the dancer is so imminent as not to 
admit of delay till the United States in Congress assembled 
can be consulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions to 
any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal 
except it be alter a declaration of war by the United States in 
Congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or 
State, and the subjects thereof, against which, war has been so 
declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by 
the United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be 
infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted 
out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall con- 
tinue, or until the United States in Congress assembled shall 
determine otherwise. 

Art. 7. When land forces are raised by any State for the 
common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, 
shall be appointed by the legislature of each State respectively 
by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as 
such State shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by 
the State which first made the appointment. 

Art, 8. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall 
be incurred for the common defence or general welfare and 
allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be 
defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by 
the several States, in proportion to the value of all land within 
each State, granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land 
and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, 
according to sucn mode as the United States in Congress as- 
sembled shall, from time to time, direct and appoint, The taxes 
for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the au- 
thority and direction of the legislatures of the several States 
within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress 
assembled. 

Art, 9. § 1. The United States in Congress assembled shall 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on 
peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth Ar- 



32 ARTICLES OF CONFEDEKA IION. 

tide, of sending and receiving ambassadors ; entering into 
treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce 
shall be made, whereby the legislative power of the respective 
States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and du- 
ties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from 
prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of 
goods or commodities whatsoever ; of establishing rules for 
deciding in all cases what captures on land or water shall be 
legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces 
in the service of the United States shall be divided or appro- 
priated ; of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of 
peace ; appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas ; and establishing courts for receiv- 
ing and determining finally appeals in all cases of capture ; 
provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge 
of any of the said courts. 

§ 2. The United States in Congress assembled shall also 
be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now 
subsisting, or that may hereafter arise between two or more 
States concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause 
whatever ; which authority shall always be exercised in the 
manner following : Whenever the legislative or executive au- 
thority or lawful agent of any State in controversy with another, 
shall present a petition to Congress, stating the matter in ques- 
tion, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given 
by order of Congress to the legislative or executive authority 
of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the 
appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall 
then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners 
or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the 
matter in question ; but if they cannot agree, Congress shall 
name three persons out of each of the United States, and from 
the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out 
one, the petioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced 
to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 33 

more than nine names, as Congress shall direct, shall, m the 
presence of Congress, be drawn out by lot ; and the persons 
whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them shall be 
commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the 
controversy, so always as a major part of the judges, who shall 
hear the cause, shall agree in the determination: and if either 
party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without 
showing reasons which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being 
present, shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to 
nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of 
Cougress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; 
and the judgment and sentence of the court, to be appointed 
in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; 
and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority 
of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the 
court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or 
judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive • 
the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either 
case transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of 
Congress, for the security of the parties concerned: provided, 
that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take 
anoath,to be administered by one of the judges of the Supreme 
or Superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried, 
"well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, 
according to the best of his judgment, without favor, affection, 
or hope of reward." Provided, also, that no State shall be de- 
prived of territory for the benefit of the United States. 

§ 3. All controversies concerning the private right of soil 
claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose 
jurisdiction, as they may respect such lands, and the States 
which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either 
of them being at the same time claimed to have originated an- 
tecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the peti- 
tion of either party to the Congress of the United States, be 
finally determined, as near as may be, in the same manner as 



34: ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial 
jurisdiction between different States. 

§ 4. The United States in Congress assembled shall also 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the 
alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by 
that of the respective States ; fixing the standard of weights 
and measures throughout the United States ; regulating the 
trade, and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members 
of any of the States ; provided that the legislative rights of any 
State, within its own limits, be not infringed or violated ; es- 
tablishing and regulating post offices from one State to anoth- 
er throughout all the United States, and exacting such post- 
age on the papers passing through the same, as may be requi- 
site to defray the expenses of the said office ; appointing all 
officers of the land forces in the service of the United States, 
excepting regimental officers ; appointing all the officers of the 
naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the 
service of the United States; making rules for the government 
and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing 
their operations. 

§ 5. The United States in Congress assembled shall have 
authority to appoint a committee to sit in the recpss of Con- 
gress, to be denominated, " A Committee of the States" and 
to consist of one delegate . from each State; and to appoint 
such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary 
for managing the general affairs of the United States under 
their direction ; to appoint one of their number to preside-, 
provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of 
President more than one year in any term of three years ; to 
ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the 
service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the 
same for defraying the public expenses ; to borrow money or 
emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting ev- 
ery half-year to the respective States an account of the sums 
of money bo borrowed or emitted ; to build and equip a navy ; 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 35 

to agree upon the number of land forces, and to marie requi- 
sitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the num- 
ber of white inhabitants in sucli State, which requisition shall 
be binding; and thereupon the legislature of each State shall 
appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, clothe, arm and 
equip them, in a soldier-like manner, at the expense of the 
United States ; and the officers and men so clothed armed 
and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within 
the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assem- 
bled; but it the United States in Congress assembled shall 
on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any State 
should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than 
its quota, and that any other State should raise a greater 
number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number 
shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the 
same manner as the quota of such State, unless the legislature 
of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be 
safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise, 
officer, clothe, arm, and equip, as many of such extra number 
as they judge can be safely spared, and the officers and men 
so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place ap- 
pointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States 
in Congress assembled. 

§ 6. The United States in Congress assembled shall never 
engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in 
time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin 
money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums 
and expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of the 
United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow mon- 
ey on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, 
nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or 
purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, 
nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the army or navy, unless 
nine States assent to the same : nor shall a question on any 



36 ARTICLES OK CONFEDERATION. 

other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be deter- 
mined, unless by the votes of a majority of the United States 
in Congress assembled. 

§ 7. The Congress of the United States shall have power 
to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place with- 
in the United States, so that no period of adjournment be for 
a longer duration than the space of six months, and shall pub- 
lish the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts 
thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military operations, 
as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays 
of the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be enter- 
ed on the journal, when it is desired by any delegate ; and the 
delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request, 
shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except 
such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures 
of the several States. 

Art. 10. The committee of the States, or any nine of them, 
shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such 
of the powers of Congress as the United States, in Congress 
assembled, by the consent of nine States, shall, from time to 
time, think expedient to vest them with ; provided that no 
power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of 
which, by the Articles of Confederation, the voice of nine States, 
in the Congress of the United States assembled, is requisite. 

Art. 11. Canada acceding to this confederation, and join- 
ing in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted 
into and entitled to all the advantages of this Union: But no 
other colony shall be admitted into th* 1 same, unless such ad- 
mission be agreed to by nine States. 

Art. 12. All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and 
debts contracted by or under the authority of Congress, before 
the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the pres- 
ent confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge 
against the United States, for payment and satisfaction where- 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 37 

of the said United States and the public faith are hereby sol- 
emnly pledged. 

Art. 13. Every State shall abide by the determination of 
the United States in Congress assembled, in all questions which 
by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Arti- 
cles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every 
State, and the Union shall be perpetual ; nor shall any altera- 
tion at any time hereafter be made in any of them ; unless 
such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, 
and be afterwards confirmed by the legislature of every State. 

And whereas it hath pleased the great Governor of the world, 
to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively repre- 
sent in Congress to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify 
the said Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, Know 
ye, that we, the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power 
and authority to us given for that purpose, do by these pres- 
ents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, 
fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said 
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, and all and 
singular the matters and things therein contained. And we 
do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respec- 
tive constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations 
of the United States in Congress assembled, in all questions 
which by the said confederation are submitted to them ; and 
that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the 
States we respectively ^represent, and that the union shall be 
perpetual. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our 
hands in Congress. 

Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, the 9th 
day of July, in the year of our Lord 17*78, and in the third 
year of the Independence of America. 

New Hampshire Massachusetts Bay 

Josiah Bartlett, John Hancock, 

John Wentworth, jun. Samuel Adams, 



38 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 



Elbkidge Gerry, 
Francis Dana, 
James Lovel, 
Samuel Holten. 

Rhode Island, &c. 
William Ellery, 
Henry Marchant, 
John Collins. 

Connecticut. 
Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
Oliver Wolcott, 
Titus Hosmer, 
Andrew Adams. 

New York. 
James Duane, 
Fra. Lkwjs, 
William Uuer, 
Gouv. Morris. 

New Jersey. 
Jno. Witherspoon, 
Nath. Scudder. 

Pennsylvania. 
Robert Morris, 
Daniel Roberdeau, 
Jona Bayard Smith, 
William Clingan, 
Joseph Reed. 



Delaware. 
Thomas M'Kean, 
John Dickinson, 
Nicholas Van Dyke. 

Maryland. 
John Hanson, 
Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia. 
Richard Henry Lee, 
John Banister, 
Thomas Adams, 
Jno. Harvie, 
Francis Lightfoot Lee. 

North Carolina. 
John Penn, 
Cons. Harnett, 
Jno. Williams. 

South Carolina. 
Henry Laurens, 
Wm. Henry Dratton, 
Jno. Matthews, 
Richard Hutson, 
Thos. Heyward, jun. 

Georgia. 
Jno. Walton, 
Edward Telfair, 
Edward Langworthy. 



SERIOUS DEFECTS IN THIS FORM OF GOVERNMENT. 39 

SERIOUS DEFECTS IN THIS FORM 
OF GOVERNMENT. 

This confederation was formed in time of war, and under 
very unfavorable circumstances in many respects, hence upon 
trial, it soon became evident that the powers conferred upon 
the Continental Congress were inadequate to the legitimate 
objects of an effective national government. More especially 
was this manifested, when it became necessary to legislate 
upon matters relating to commerce and taxes. 

There was a want of, or deficiency of coercive }^ower in Congress. 
It had not the exclusive power to regulate commerce, to issue 
paper money, or to enforce the laws made, the rules adopted, 
or the orders given, and even several of the States began 
to exercise the sovereign, and absolute right of treating the 
recommendations of Congress with contempt. 

By this political compact, the United States in Congress 
assembled had rights and powers, without being able to enforce 
them. 

Another defect was in the mode of representation, which, 
before the adoption of the Constitution gave to each State an 
equal share of power, although some were ten times as impor- 
tant as others in population and value of property. The 
States had each an equal voice and share in the Union. The 
small State of Delaware for instance, had an equal vote and 
an equal influence in the National Council with Virginia, 
although Virginia had to pay for the support of the govern- 
ment, by reason of the number of its inhabitants and value of 
its property, nearly twelve times as much as Delaware. 

The population of Delaware at this time was about 50,000 
and its quota of taxes in requisition of Congress was $32,475, 
while Virginia had a population of 650,000 and its quota of 
taxes was $371,136. So also Rhode Island had a population 
of only 59,670, and her quota of taxes was only 46,764, while 
Massachusetts had a population of about 400,000, and her 
quota of taxes was $334,746, and yet their representatives and 
power iu Congress were equal. 



4^ REPRESENTATION UNDER CONFEDERATION. 

REPRESENTATIVE TABLE. 

IN 1787, UNDER CONFEDERATION. 







Quota of taxes 


Mean 


Number 




Population. 


in requisition 


proportion 


allowed 






of Congress. 


of votes. 


in 1787. 


New Hampshire, 


150,000 


$76,233 


3 


1 


Massachusetts, 


400,000 


321.745 


11 


1 


Rhode Island, 


59,670 


46,764 


2 


1 


Connecticut, 


192,000 


191,133 


6 


1 


New York, 


250,000 


185.567 


7 


1 


New Jersey, 


150,000 


120,619 


4 


1 


Pennsylvania, 


300,000 


296,903 


9 


1 


Delaware, 


50,000 


32,475 


1 


1 


Maryland, 


320,000 


204,775 


7 


1 


Virginia, 


650,000 


371.136 


14 


1 


North Carolina, 


300.000 


157,732 


6 


1 


South Carolina, 


225,000 


139.017 


5 


1 


Georgia. 


56.000 


23.288 


1 


1 



The original articles of confederation were found to be 
insufficient, and ineffectual in many other important particu- 
lars. Public credit could not be supported, collection of 
taxes could not be enforced, alliances could not be obtained, 
nor treaties preserved, and "what was still more defective, hos- 
tilities between the States could not be prevented, nor insur- 
rections among citizens. 

In the spring of 1737 the nation seemed to be on the verge 
of bankruptcy. Congress had previously made a requisition 
upon the several States, for money to support, and carry on 
the government but only a few had responded. New York 
had paid more thanherquota, Pennsylvania nearlyall of hers, 
Connecticut and Delaware about one third of their quota, but 
many had paid comparatively nothing. The interest both on 
the foreign and domestic debt was rapidly accumulating. 

The receipts of money paid into the federal treasury from 
Nov. 1st, 1781, to Nov. 1st, 1784, a period of three years was 
only §3,025,089.31 or about $612,000 per annum. For three 
years previous to 1787, the whole amount in specie paid into 
the federal treasury, did not exceed $1,400,000, being a little 
more than $400,000 per annum. The amount paid in, on these 
requisitions to carry on the government in 1786, was less than 
$200,000, and this came from two or three States ; thus the 
receipts of the treasury were constantly decreasing, while the 
expenditures were increasing. 



THE FOREIGN DEBT. 41 

The foreign debt at this time was $7,000,000 and the interest 
coming due, and to be paid the early part of 1787, was as fol- 
lows. 

Interest on loans of the King of France, $240,740 

" " Spanish loans about 48,C00 

« « Dutch " " 200,000 

" CertiQcates and foreign officers 22,000 

In addition, there would fall due on principal sum and 
interest, payable during the year 1787, on French and Dutch 
loans, more than $1,000,000, makingin the aggregate $1,600,000 
to pay in 1787, and about $1,000,000 annually thereafter,(on an 
average) for the next ten years on said loans, and then about 
$300,000 annually, for the next ten years thereafter. In addi- 
tion to this, there was a large domestic debt, upon which inter- 
est was accruing, and the indebtedness increasing. 

This was indeed a dark hour for the new Republic. Congress 
was powerless; she could make requisitions on the several 
States, but could not compel the payment of a farthing. " The 
Great Crisis had arrived when the people of these United 
States, by whose will, and for whose benefit, the federal gov- 
ernment was instituted had to decide whether they would 
support their rank as a nation by maintaining the Public 
Faith at home and abroad, or whether for want of a timely 
exertion in establishing a General Revenue, and thereby 
giving strength to the confederacy, they would hazard not 
only the existence of the Union, but of those great and 
invaluable privileges, for which they have so arduously and so 
honorably contended." 

Previous to this General Washington had addressed his cir- 
cular letter to the Governors of the several States, urging 
them in the strongest language to comply with the requisition 
of Congress, and to preserve the public credit. Many of the 
States had attempted to do this, but they were impoverished 
by the continued drain on -the people. The war had been 
long and expensive, the entire cost being estimated at one hun- 
dred and thirty millions of dollars, exclusive of certain losses of 
forty millions more. 

By reason of this state of affairs in Febuary 1787 a resolution 
was offered in Congress,that on the second Monday of May fol- 



42 CONVENTION OF DELEGATES. 

lowing, a convention of delegates, who should be appointed by 
the several States be held at Philadelphia, for the sole pur- 
pose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and reporting 
to Congress, and the several legislatures, such alterations and 
provisions therciu, as the exigencies of the government 
required 

In May 1787, the delegates from all the States presented 
themselves, excepting from New Hampshire and Rhode Island. 
They were not represented. Washington was chosen presi- 
dent of the convention, and for upwards of four months it 
continued with closed doors, and it was not till August 6th, 
1787, that the committee which had been appointed for that 
purpose reported a rough draft of the constitution, and finally 
on the 15th of September 1787, after a warm and lengthy 
debate, and after many amendments and revisions, a Constitu- 
tion was adopted. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ARTICLE I. 

Section 1. Legislative powers ; in whom vested. 

Sec. 2. House of Representatives, how and by whom chosen — 
Qualifications of a Representative — Representatives and direct 
taxes, how apportioned — Census — Vacancies to be filled - Power 
of choosing officers, and of impeachment. 

Sec. 3. Senators, how and by whom ehossn — How classified — 
State Executive to make temporary appointments, in case, etc.— 
Qualifications of a Senator -President of the Senate, his right 
to vote — President pro tern., and other officers of Senate, how 
chosen — Power to try impeachments — When President is tried, 
Chief Justice to preside — Sentence. 

Sec. 4. Times, etc., of holding elections, how prescribed —One 
Session in each year. 

Sec. 5. Membership — Quorum— Adjournments— Rules— Power 
to punish or expel — Journal — Time of adjournments limited, 
unless, etc. 

Sec. 6. Compensation — Privileges — Disqualification in certain 
cases. 

Sec. 7. House to originate all revenue bills — Veto — Bill may 
•be passed by two-thirds of each house, notwithstanding, etc. — 
Bill not returned in ten days — Provision as to all orders, etc., 
except, etc. 

Sec. 8. Towers of Congress. 

Sec. 9. Provision as to migration or importation of certain per- 
sons - Habeas Corpus - Bills of attainder, etc.— Taxes, how appor- 
tioned - No export duty — No commercial preferences - No 
money drawn from treasury, unless, etc. -No titular nobility — 
Officers not to receive presents, unless, etc. 

Sec. 10. States prohibited from the exercise of certain powers. 

43 



44 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. President; his term of office — Electors of Presi- 
dent; number and how appointed —Electors to vote on same 
day — Qualification of President — on whom his duties devolve in 
case of his removal, death, etc. — President's compensation — 
His oath. 

Sec 2. President to be commander-in-chief — He may require 
opinion of, etc., and may pardon — Treaty-making power — Nomi- 
nation of certain officers —When President may fill vacancies. 

Sec. 3. President shall communicate to Congress — He may 
convene and adjourn Congress, in case, etc.; shall receive am- 
bassadors, execute laws, and commission officers. 

Sec. 4. All civil offices forfeited for certain crimes. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1. Judicial power —Tenure — Compensation. 

Sec. 2. Judicial power; to what cases it extends — Original 
jurisdiction of Supreme Court — Appellate — Trial by jury, except, 
etc.— Trial, where. 

Sec. 3. Treason defined — Proof of — Punishment of. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. Each State to give credit to the public acts, etc., of 
every other State. 

Sec. 2. Privileges of citizens of each State — Fugitives from 
justice to be delivered up— Persons held to service having 
escaped, to be delivered up. 

Sec. 3. Admission of new States — Power of Congress over ter- 
ritory and other property. 

Sec. 4. Republican form of government guaranteed — Each 
State to be protected. 

ARTICLE V. 
Constitution ; how amended - - Proviso. 

ARTICLE VI. 
Certain debts, etc., adopted — Supremacy of Constitution, 
treaties, and laws of the United States — Oath to support Consti- 
tution, by whom taken— No religious test. 

ARTICLE VII. 
What ratification shall establish Constitution. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 45 

AMENDMENTS. 
I. Religious establishment prohibited — Freedom of speech, 

of the press, and right to petition. 
II. Right to keep and bear arras. 

III. No soldier to be quartered in any house, unless, etc. 

IV. Right of search and seizure regulated. 

V. Provisions concerning prosecution, trial and punishment 
— Private property not to be taken for public use, with- 
out, etc. 
VI. Further provision respecting criminal prosecutions. 
VII. Right of trial by jury secured. 
VIII. Excessive bail or fines and cruel punishments prohibited. 
IX. Rule of construction. 
X. Same subject. 
XI. Same subject. 
XII. Manner of choosing President and Vice-President. 

XIII. Slavery abolished. 

XIV. Citizenship. 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 
Section 1. 
1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested 
in a congress of the United States, which shall consist of 
a senate and house of representatives. 

Section 2. 
1. The house of representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the 
several states ; and the electors in each state shall have 
the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numer- 
ous branch of the state legislature. 



46 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not 
have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been 
seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which 
he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several states which may be included within 
this Union, according to their respective numbers, which 
shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a term of 
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all 
other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 
within three years after the first meeting of the congress 
of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 
ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. 
The number of representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least 
one representative ; and until such enumeration shall be 
made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
choose three ; Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations, one ; Connecticut, five ; New-York, 
six ; New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, eight ; Delaware, 
one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, ten ; North Carolina five ; 
South Carolina, five ; and Georgia, three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from 
any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies. 

5. The house of representatives shall choose their 
speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole powet 
of impeachment. 

Section 3. 

1. The senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature 
thereof , for six years ; and each senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in conse- 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 47 

quence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally 
as may he into three classes. The seats of the senators of 
the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expiration of the 
fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the 
sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second 
year ; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, 
during the recess of the legislature of any state, the exec- 
utive thereof may make temporary appointments until 
the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill 
such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have 
attained the age of thirty years, and been nine years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall 
be chosen. 

4. The vice-president of the United States shall be 
president of the senate, but shall have no vote unless 
they be equally divided 

5. The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a 
president pro tempore in the absence of the vice-president 
or when he shall exercise the office of president of the 
United States. 

6. The senate shall have the sole power to try all im- 
peachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be 
on oath or affirmation. When the president of the United 
States is tried, the chief justice shall preside; and no pei- 
son shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- 
thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualification to 
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under 
the United States ; but the party convicted shall, never- 
theless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judg- 
ment and punishment, according to law. 



48 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Section 4. 

1. The times, places and manner of holding elections 
for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in 
each state by the legislature thereof ; but the congress 
may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the place of choosing senators. 

2. The congress shall assemble at least once in every 
year ; and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in 
December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. 

1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns and qualifications of its own members, and a 
majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and 
may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
members, in such manner and under such oenalties as 
each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rule of its proceed- 
ings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and with 
the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such 
parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy , and the 
yeas and nays of the members of either house on any 
question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, 
be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of congress, shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which the 
two houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. 
1. The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and 



CONSTITUTION" OF THE UNITED STATES. 4'.) 

paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, 
in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, 
be privileged from arrest during' their attendance at the 
session of their respective houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
either house they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time 
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office 
under the authority of the United States, which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments wherof shall have 
been increased, during such time ; and no person holding 
any office under the United States shall be a member of 
either house during his continuance in office. 

Section 7. 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
house of representatives ; but the senate may propose or 
concur with amendments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the house of repre- 
sentatives and the senate shall, before it becomes a law, 
be presented to the president of the United States ; if he 
approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that house in which it shall have 
originated ; who shall enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon- 
sideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered ; 
and, if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall be- 
come o. law. But in all cases, the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of 
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house repectively. ■. If any bill shall 
not be returned by the president within ten days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him. the 



50 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

same shall be a law in like manner as if lie had signed it, 
unless the congress, by their adjournment, prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concur- 
rence of the senate and house of representatives may be 
necessary (except on a question of adjournment), shall be 
presented to the president of the United States ; and, 
before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by 
him ; or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives, 
according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill. 

Section 8. 

The congress shall have power : 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; 
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and 
general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, im- 
posts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United 

States. 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States. 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several states, and with the Indian tribes. 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout 
the United States. 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of 
foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures. 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the 
securities and current coin of the United States. 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads. 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, 
by securing for limited times, to authors and inventors, the 
exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court ; 
to define and punish piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. 



CONSTITUTION OF TIIE UNITED STATES. 51 

10. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, 
and make rules concerning captures on land and water. 

11. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation 
of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two 
years. 

12. To provide and maintain a navy. 

13. To make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces. 

14. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute 
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions. 

15. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may 
be employed in the service of the United States ; reserv- 
ing to the states respectively the appointment of the offi- 
cers and the authority of training the militia according to 
the discipline prescribed by congress. 

1G. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso- 
ever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as 
may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance 
of congress, become the seat of government of the United 
States ; and to exercise like authority over all places pur- 
chased, by the consent of the legislature of the state in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, maga- 
zines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ; and 

17. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all 
other powers vested by this constitution in the government 
of the United States, or in any department or officer 
thereof. 

Section 9. 

1 . The migration or importation of such persons as any 

of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, 

shall not be prohibited by the congress prior to the year 

one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty 



52 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

may be imposed on such importation not exceeding ten 
dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or inva- 
sion, the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law shall be 
passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless 
in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before 
directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on any articles exported 
from any state. No preference shall be given by any regu- 
lation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state 
over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from 
one state be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another. 

C. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
consequence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular 
statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of 
all public money shall be published from time to time. 

7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States ; and no person holding any office of profit or trust 
under them shall, without the consent of the congress, ac- 
cept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind 
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Section 10. 

1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance or con- 
federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin 
money ; emit bills of credit ; make any thing but gold and 
silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of 
attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation 
of contracts ; or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No state shall, without the consent of the congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what 
may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection 
laws, and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 

by any state on imports or exports shall be for tno use of 
the treasury of the United States, and all such laws shall 
be subject to the revision and control of the congress. No 
state shall, without the consent of the congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of 
peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another 
state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section I. 

1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office 
during the term of four years ; and, together with the vice- 
president chosen for the same term, be elected as follows : 

2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legis- 
lature thereof may direct, a number of electors equal to 
the whole number of senators and representatives to which 
the state may be entitled in the congress ; but no senator 
or representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an 
elector. 

3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and 
vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall 
not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. 
And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and 
of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of government 
of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. 
The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the 
senate and house of representatives, open all the certifi- 
cates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed : and if there be more than one who 



64 ' CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

have such majority, and have an equal number of votes,- 
then the house of representatives shall immediately choose, 
by ballot, one of them for president ; and if no person have 
a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the said 
house shall, in like manner, choose the president. But in 
choosing the president, the vote shall be taken by states, 
the representation from each state having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or mem- 
bers from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all 
the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the president, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the vice- 
president. But if there should remain two or more who 
have equal votes, the senate shall choose from them, by 
ballot, the vice-president. 

4. The congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, 
which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person, except a natural born citizen, or a citizen 
of the United States at the time of the adoption of this 
constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president ; 
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and 
been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

C. In case of the removal of the president from office, or 
of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the pow- 
ers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on 
the vice-president ; and the congress may, by law, provide 
for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, 
both of the president and vice-president, declaring what 
officer shall then act as president ; and such officer shall 
act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a presi- 
dent shall be elected. 

7. The president shall, at stated times, receive for his 
services a compensation which shall neither be increased 
nor diminished during the period for which he shall 



CONSTITUTION" OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 

have been elected ; and he shall not receive within that 
period any other emolument from the United States, or 
any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall 
take the following oath of affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of president of the United States ; and 
will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend 
the constitution of the United States." 

Section 2. 

1. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of 
the several states, when called into the actual service of 
the United States. He may require the opinion, in writing, 
of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant re- 
prieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, 
except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and 
consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two- 
thirds of the senators present occur ; and he shall nomi- 
nate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate 
shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers 
of the United States whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law. But the congress may, by law, vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the 
president alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments. 

3. The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies 
that may happen during the recess of the senate, by 
granting commissions which shall expire at the end of 
their next session. 



56 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Section 3. 

1. He shall, from time to time, give to the congress 
information of the state of the Union, and recommend to 
their consideration such measures as he shall judge neces- 
sary and expedient. He may, on extraordinary occasions, 
convene both houses, or either of them ; and in case of 
disagreement between them, with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
shall think proper. He shall receive ambassadors and 
other public ministers. He shall take care that the laws 
be faithfully executed ; and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States. 

Section 4. 

1. The president, vice-president and all civil officers of 
the United States, shall be removed from office on im- 
peachment for, and conviction of treason, bribery or other 
high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1. 

1. The judicial power of the United States shall be 
vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as 
the congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. 
The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall 
hold their offices during good behavior ; and shall, at 
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, 
which shall not be diminished during their continuance 
in office. 

Section 2. 

1. The judicial po^er shall extend to all cases in law and 
equity arising under this constitution, the laws of the 
United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty 



CONSTITUTION OE THE UNITED STATES. 57 

and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the 
United States shall be a party ; to controversies between 
two or more states ; between a state and citizens of 
another state ; between citizens of different states, between 
citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of 
different states, and between a state, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public minis- 
ters and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, 
the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all 
the other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall 
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with 
such exceptions and under such regulations as the con- 
gress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
ment, shall be by jury, and such trial shall be held in the 
state where the said crimes shall have been committed ; 
but when not committed within any state, the trial shall 
be at such place or places as the congress may by law 
have directed. 

Section 3. 

1. Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them or in adhering to their ene- 
mies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two wit- 
nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The congress shall have power to declare the punish- 
ment of treason ; but no attainder of treason shall work 
corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life 
of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. 
1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to 
the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every 



58 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

other state ; and the congress may, by general laws, pre- 
scribe the manner in which such acts, records and pro- 
ceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. 

1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in 
another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority 
of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one state under 
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in conse- 
quence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
from such service or labor ; but shall be delivered up on 
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
be due. 

Section 3. 

1. New states maybe admitted by the congress into this 
Union ; but no new state shall be formed or erected within 
the jurisdiction of any other state, nor any state be formed 
by the junction of two or more states or parts of states, 
without the consent of the legislatures of the states con- 
cerned, as well as of the congress. 

2. The congress shall have power to dispose of, and 
make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the ter- 
ritory or other property belonging to the United States ; 
and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any par- 
ticular state. 

Section 4. 
1. The United States shall guarantee to every state in 
this Union a republican form of government, and shall 
protect each of them against invasion ; and, on application 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 

of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legisla 
ture cannot be convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

1. The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this 
constitution ; or, on the application of the legislatures of 
two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for 
proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitu- 
tion, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of 
the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths 
thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may 
be proposed by the congress ; provided that no amendment, 
Which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and 
that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its 
equal suffrage in the senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into 
before the adoption of this constitution shall be as valid 
against the United States under this constitution, as under 
the confederation. 

2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States 
which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and 
the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any 
thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, 
and the members of the several state legislatures, and all 
executive and judicial officers, both of the United States 
and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affir- 



60 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

mation to support this constitution ; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

1. The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall 
be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution 
between the states so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
seven, and of the Independence of the United States of 
America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

[The following amendments were proposed at the first 
session of the first congress of the United States, which 
was begun and held at the city of New York on the 4th 
of March, 1789, and were adopted by the requisite number 
of states. Laws of the U. S., vol. 1, page 82.] 

[The following preamble and resolution preceded the 
original proposition of the amendments, and as they have 
been supposed by a high equity judge (8th Wendell's 
Reports, p. 100) to have an important bearing on the con- 
struction of those amendments, they are here inserted. 
They will be found in the journals of the first session of 
he first congress. 

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Begun and held at the city of New York, on Wednesday, the 
\th day of March, 1789. 

The conventions of a number of the states having, at 
the time of their adopting the constitution, expressed a 
desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Gl 

powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses 
should be added, and as extending the ground of public 
confidence in the government will best insure the benefi- 
cent ends of its institution : 

Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in congress assembled, two-thirds of 
both houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed 
to the legislatures of the several states, as amendments to the 
constitution of the United States; all or any of which articles, 
when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, to be 
valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said constitution, 
namely :] 

ARTICLE I. 
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press ; or the 
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II. 
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security 
of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear 
arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war 
but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, paper and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrants shall 
issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirm- 
ation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the persons or things to be seized. 



62 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ARTICLE V. 
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment 
of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of 
war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for 
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; 
nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, 
without due process cf law ; nor shall private property be 
taken for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of 
the state and district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which district shall have been previously ascer- 
tained by law ; and to be informed of the nature and cause 
of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining 
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of coun- 
sel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall 
be preserved ; and no fact tried by a jury shall be other- 
wise re-examined in any court of the United States, than 
according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 

ARTICLE IX. 

The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved 
to the states respectively, or to the people. 

[The following amendment was proposed at the second 
Bession of the third congress. It is printed in the Laws 
of the United States, vol. 1, p. 73, as article 11.] 

ARTICLE XI. 
The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced 
or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens 
of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign 

state. 

[The three following sections were proposed as amend- 
ments at the first session of the eighth congress. They 
are printed in the Laws of the United States as article 12.] 

ARTICLE XII. 
1 The electors shall meet in their respective states, and 
vote by ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom 
at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with 
themselves. They shall name in their ballots the person 
voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the person 
voted for as vice-president ; and they shall make distinct 
lists of all persons voted for as president, and of all per- 
sons voted for as vice-president, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which lists they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the president of the senate. The presi- 



64 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

dent of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and 
house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted. The person having the 
greatest number of votes for president shall be the presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed ; and if no person have such majority, 
then from the persons having the highest numbers, not 
exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as president, 
the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the president. But in choosing the president, the 
votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each 
state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the house of representatives shall not 
choose a president, whenever the right of choice shall 
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next 
following, then the vice-president shall act as president, 
as in the case of the death or other constitutional disa- 
bility of the president. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as 
vice-president shall be the vice-president, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, 
and if no person have a majority, then from the two high- 
est numbers on the list the senate shall choose the vice- 
president. A quorum for the purpose shall consist of 
two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a major- 
ity of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
of president shall be eligible to that of vice-president of 
the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII. 
Section 1. 
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES? 05 

duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or 
any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. 
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 



The following is the certificate of the secretary of state 
of the United States, announcing the ratification of the 
foregoing article : 
William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States: 

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETING : 

Know Ye, That, whereas the congress of the United States, 
on the first of February last, passed a resolution, which is in the 
words following, namely: "A Resolution submitting to the 
legislatures of the several states a proposition to amend the 
constitution of the United States. 

"Resolved, By the senate and house of representatives of the 
United States of America in congress assembled (two-thirds of 
both houses concurring), that the following article be proposed 
to the legislatures of the several states as an amendment to the 
constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three- 
fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid, to all intents and pur- 
poses, as a part of the said constitution, namely:" 
(See Article XIII, above.) 

And whereas it appears from official documents on file in this 
department, that the amendment to the constitution of the 
United States proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the 
legislatures of the states of Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan, 
Maryland, New York, West Virginia, Maine, Kansas, Massachu- 
setts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, 
Louisiani, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Arkansas, 
Connecticut, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, North 
Carolina and Georgia ; in all twenty-seven states. 

And whereas, the whole number of states in the United States 
is thirty-six; and whereas, the before specially-named states, 
whose legislatures have ratified the said proposed amendment, 
constitute three-fourths of the whole number of states in the 
United States: 

Now, therefore, be it known, that T, William H. Seward, 
secretary of state of the United States, bv virtue and in pur- 
suance of the second section of the act of congress, approved 
the twentieth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen, entitled, 
" An act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United 
States, and for other purposes," do hereby certify, that the 
amendment aforesaid has become valid, to all intents and pur- 
poses, as a part of the constitution of the United States. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and 
caused the seal of the department of state to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this eighteenth day of Decem- 
ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
[l. s.] and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United 
States of America the ninetieth. 

5 WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 

Secretary of State. 



C6 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ARTICLE XIV. 
Section 1. 

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
United States and of the state wherein they reside. No 
state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge 
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, 
liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny 
to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws. 

Section 2. 

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
states according to their respective numbers, counting 
the whole number of persons in each state, excluding 
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of electors for president and vice- 
president of the United States, representatives in congress, 
the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the mem- 
bers of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the 
male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of 
age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way 
abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other 
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced 
in the proportion which the number of such male citizens 
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty- 
one years of age in such state. 

Section 3. 
No person shall be a senator or representative in con- 
gress, or elector of president and vice-president, or hold 
any office, civil or military, under the United States, or 
under any state, who, having previously taken an oath as 
a member of congress, or as an officer of the United States, 
or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 67 

or judicial officer of any state, to support the constitution 
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the 
enemies thereof. But congress may, by a vote of two- 
thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. 
The validity of the public debt of the United States 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment 
of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insur- 
rection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither 
the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any 
debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebel- 
ion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. 
The congress shall have power to enforce, by appropri- 
ate legislation, the provisions of this article. 



The following are the certificates oi the secretary of state 
of the United States, announcing the ratification of the 
foregoing article : 
"William II. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States: 

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETING : 

"Whereas, the congress of the United States, on or about the 
sixteenth of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-six, passed a resolution, which is in the words and figures 
following, to wit : 

"Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States. 

"J?e it Resolved, by the senate and house of representatives of 
Ihe United States of America in congress assembled (two-thirds 
fo both houses concurring), That the following article be proposed 
to the legislatures of the several states as an amendment to the 
constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three- 
fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the constitu- 
tion, namely :" 

(See Article XIV, above.) 

And whereas, by the second section of the act of congress, ap- 
proved the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and 
eighteen, entitled "An act to provide for the publication of the 
laws cf the United States, and for other purposes," it is made the 



68 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES- 

duty of the secretary of state forthwith to cause any amendment 
to the constitution of the United States, which has been adopted 
according to the provisions of the said constitution, to be pub- 
lished in the newspapers authorized to promulgate the laws, with 
his certificate specifying the states by which the same may have 
been adopted, and that the same has become valid, to all intents 
and purposes, as apart of the constitution of the United States ; 

And whereas, neither the act just quoted from, nor any other 
law, expressly or by conclusive implication, authorizes the secre- 
tary of state to determine and decide doubtful questions as to the 
authenticity of the organization of state legislatures, or as to the 
power of any state legislature to recall a previous act or resolu- 
tion of ratification of any amendment proposed to the constitu- 
tion; 

And whereas, it appears from official documents on file in this 
department, that the amendment to the constitution of the 
United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the 
legislatures of the states of Connecticut, New H am pshire, Ten- 
nessee, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Illinois, 
West Virginia, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Missouri, Indiana, Minne- 
sota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massa- 
chusetts, Nebraska, and Iowa ; 

And whereas, it further appears, from documents on file in this 
department, that the amendment to the constitution of the 
United States, proposed as aforesaid, has also been ratified by 
newly constituted and newly established bodies, avowing them- 
selves to be, and acting as, the legislatures, respectively, of the 
states of Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, South 
Carolina, and Alabnma; 

And whereas, it lurther appears, from official documents on 
file in this department, that the legislatures of two of the states 
first above enumerated, to wit : Ohio and New Jersey, have since 
passed resolutions, respectively, withdrawing the consent of each 
of said states to the aforesaid amendment; 

And whereas, it is deemed a natter of doubt and uncertainty 
whether such resolutions {ire not irregular; invalid, and, there- 
fore, ineffectual, for withdrawing the consent of the said two 
states, or of either of them, to the aforesaid amendment; 

And whereas, the whole number of states in the United States 
is thirty-seven, to wit : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 
Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mis- 
sissippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, 
Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Oregon, 
Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada and Nebraska; 

And whereas, the twenty-three states first hereinoefore named, 
whose legislatures have ratified the said proposed amendment, 
and the six states next thereafter named, as having ratified the 
said proposed amendment by newly constituted and established 
legislative bodies, together constitute three-fourths of the whole 
number of states in the United States. 

Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Wiijliam H. Seward, sec- 
retary of state of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance 
of the second section of the act of congress, approved the twen- 
tieth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen, hereinbefore 
cited, do hereby certify, that, if the resolutions of the legisla- 
tures of Ohio and New Jersey, ratifying the aforesaid amend- 
ment, are to be deemed as remaining of full force and effect, 
notwithstanding the subsequent resolutions of the legislatures 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 69 

of those states, which purport to withdraw the consent of said 
states from such ratification, then the aforesaid amendment has 
been ratified in the manner hereinbefore mentioned, and so has 
become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the consti- 
tution of the United States. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 

the seal of the department of state to be aTxed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this twentieth day of July, in 

the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 

[l. S.] sixty-eight, and of the Independence of the United 

States of America the ninety-third. 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 

Secretary of State. 



William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States: 

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETING. 

Whereas, by an act of congress, passed on the twentieth of 
April, one thousand eight hundred an J eighteen, entitled " An 
act to provide for the publication of fie laws of the United 
States, and for other purposes," it is declared that, whenever 
official notice shall have been received at the department of 
state that any amendment which heretofore has been and here- 
after may be proposed to the constitution of the United States 
has been adopted according to the provisions of the constitu- 
tion, it shall be the duty of the said secretary of state, forthwith, 
to cause the said amendment to be published i\ the newspapers 
authorized to promulgate the laws, with his certificate, specify- 
ing the states by which the nme may have been adopted, and 
that the same has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a 
part of the constitution of the United States ; 

And whereas, the congress of the United States, on or about 
the sixteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-six, submitted to the legislatures of the several states a 
proposed amendment to the constitution, in the following 
words, to wit : 

"Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States. 

" Be it Resolved, by the senate and house of representatives of 
the United States of America, in congress assembled (two-thirds 
of both houses concurring), That the following article be pro- 
posed to the legislatures of the several states as an amendment 
to the constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by 
three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the 
constitution, namely:" 

(See Article XIV, above.) 

And whereas, the senate and house of representatives of the 
congress of the United States, on the twenty-first day of July, 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, adopted and trans- 
mitted to the department of state a concurrent resolution, 
which concurrent resolution is in the words and figures follow- 
ing, to wit : 

" In Senate op the United States, I 
"July 21, 1868. j 

"Whereas, the legislatures of the states of Connecticut, Ten- 
nessee, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, West Virginia, Kansas, 
Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Wiscon- 
sin, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Michigan, Nevada, New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Maine, Iowa, Arkansas, Florida, 



70 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana, being 
three-fourths and more of the several states of the Union, have 
ratified the fourteenth article of amendment to the constitution 
of the United States, duly proposed by two-thirds of each house 
of the thirty-ninth congress ; therefore, 

"Resolved, by the senate (the house of representatives con- 
curring:), That said fourteenth article is hereby declared to be a, 
part of the constitution of the United States, and it shall be duly 
promulgated as such by the secretary cf state. 

"Attest: GEO. C. GORH AM, Secretary." 

" In the House of Representatives, ) 
"July 21, 1868. J 

"Resolved, That the house >f representatives concur in the 
foregoing concurrent resolution of the senate, 'declaring the 
ratification of the fourteenth article of amendment of the con- 
stitution of the United States.' 
"Attest: EDWD. McPHERSON. Ck,rk. n 

And whereas, official notice has been received at the depart- 
ment of state that the legislatures of the several states next 
hereinafter named, have, at the times respectively herein men- 
tioned, taken the proceedings hereinafter recited, upon or in 
relation to the ratification of the said proposed amendment, 
called article fourteenth, namely: The legislature of Connecti- 
cut ratified the amendment June 30th, 1866; the legislature of 
New Hampshire ratified it July ?th, 1866: the legislature of Ten- 
nessee ratified it July 19th, 1866; the legislature of New Jersey 
ratified it September 11th, 1866, and the legislature of the same 



ture of Vermont ratified it on or previous to November 9th, 
1S66; the legislature of Georgia rejected it November 13th, 1866, 
and the legislature of the same state ratified it July 21st, 1868 ; 
the legislature of North Carolina rejected it December 4th, 1866, 
and the legislature of the same state ratified it July 4th, 1868; the 
legislature ( t* South Carolina rejected it December 20th, 1866, and 
the legislature of the same state ratified it July 9th, 1868; the 
legislature of Virginia rejected it January 9th, 1867; the legis- 
lature of Kentuckv rejected it January 10th 1867 ; the legislature 
of New York ratified it January 10th, 1867 ; the legislature of Ohio 
ratified it January 11th, 1867, and the legislature of the same 
state passed a resolution in January, 1868, to withdraw its con- 
sent to it; the legislature of Illinois ratified it January 15th, 
1867: the legislature of West Virginia ratified it January 16th, 
1807; the legislature of Kansas ratified it January 18th, 1867; the 
legislature of Maine ratified it January 19th, 1867 ; the legislature 
of Nevada ratified it January 22d, 1867 ; the legislature of Mis- 
souri ratified it on or previous to January 26th, 1867; the legisla- 
ture of Indiana ratified it Januarv 29th, 1867 ; the legislature of 
Minnesota ratified it February 1st, 1867 ; the legislature of Rhode 
Island ratified it February 7th, 1867 ; the legislature of Delaware 
rejected it February 7th, 1867; the legislature of Wisconsin rati- 
fied it February 13th, 1867; the legislature of Pennsylvania rati- 
fied it February 13th, 1867 ; the legislature of Michigan ratified it 
February 15th, 1867; the legislature of Massachusetts ratified it 
March 20th, 1807; the legislature of Maryland rejected it March 
23d, 1867; the legislature of Nebraska ratified it June 15th, 1867; 
f-,he legislature of Iowa ratified it April 3d-, 180S ; the legislature 



CONSTITUTION OF -THE UNITED STATES. 71 

of Arkansas ratified it April 6th, 1868; the legislature of Florida 
ratified it June 9th, 1868; the legislature of Louisiana ratified it 
July 9th, 1868; and the legislature of Alabama ratified it July 
13th, 1868: 

Now, therefore, be it Known, that I, "William H. Seward, 
secretary of state of the United States, in execution of the 
aforesaid act, and of the aforesaid concurrent resolution of the 
21st of July, 1868, and in conformance thereto, do hereby direct 
the said proposed amendment to the constitution of the United 
States to be published in the newspapers authorized to promul- 
gate the laws of the United States, and I do hereby certify, that the 
said proposed amendment has been adopted in the manner here- 
inbefore mentioned by the st .tes specified in the said concur- 
rent resolution, namely: The states of Connecticut, New Hamp- 
shire, Tennessee, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, New York. 
Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Missouri, 
Indiana, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania,, 
Michigan, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Florida, 
North Carolina, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, and also 
by the legislature of the state of Georgia; the states thus speci- 
fied being more than three-fourths of the states of the United 
States. 

And I do further certify, that the said amendment has become 
valid to all intents and purposes, as a part of the constitution of 
the United Staves. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the department of state to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington this twenty-eighth day of July, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
[L. S.] sixty-eight, and of the Independence of the United State3 
of America the ninety-third. 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 

Secretary of State. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section 1. 
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any 
state on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude. 

Section 2. 
The congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 



The following is the certificate of the secretary of state 
of the United States, announcing the ratification of the 
foregoing article : 



72 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United States : 

TO ALL, TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, GREETING : 

Know Ye, That the congress of the United States, on or about 
the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-nine, passed a resolution in the words 
and figures following, to wit : 

"A Resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States. 
" Resolved, By the senate and house of representatives of the 
United States of America, in congress assembled (two-thirds of 
both houses concurring), That the following article be proposed 
to the legislatures of the several states as an amendment to the 
constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three- 
fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the constitu- 
tion, namely :" 

(See Article XV, above.) 

And, further, that it appears from official documents on file in 
this department, that the amendment to the constitution of the 
United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the 
legislatures of the states of North Carolina, West Virginia, Mas- 
sachusetts, Wisconsin, Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, South Caro- 
lina, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, In- 
diana, New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, Vermont, Virginia, 
Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, 
Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Texas ; in all, twenty-nine states : 

And, further, that the states whose legislatures have so ratified 
the said proposed amendment constitute three-fourths of the 
whole number of states in the United States; 

And, further, that it appears, from an official document on file 
in this department, that the legislature of the state of New York 
has since passed resolutions claiming to withdraw the said ratifi- 
cation of the said amendment which had been made by the legis- 
lature of that state, and of which official notice had been filed in 
this department; 

And, further, that it appears, from an official document on file 
in this department, that the legislature of Georgia has, by reso- 
lution, ratified the said proposed amendment: 

Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Hamilton Fish, secretary 
of state of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the 
second section of the act of congress approved the twentieth 
day of April, in the vear eighteen hundred and eighteen, entitled 
"An act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United 
States, and for other purposes," do hereby certify, that the 
amendment aforesaid has become valid to all intents and pur- 
poses as part of the constitution of the United States. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the department of state to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, 
in the vear of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 

[l. S.] severity, and of the Independence of the United States 
the ninety-fourth. „ „ 

HAMILTON FISH. 



THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 7'6 



THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THE 
CONSTITUTION. 

TIME OF RATIFICATION BY THE ORIGINAL STATES. 
After copies of the Constitution had been sent to the State 
Legislatures, more than a year elapsed, before the requisite 
number of States had ratified it. 

By Convention of Delaware, December 7th., 1787. 

Pennsylvania December 12th., 1787. 

New Jersey December 18th., 1787. 

Georgia January 2d, 1788. 

'• Connecticut, January 9th., 1788. 

Massachusetts February 6th., 1788 

Maryland, April 28th., 1788. 

" " South Carolina, May 23d., 1788. 

New Hampshire Tune 21st., 1788. 

Virginia, Juue 26th., 1788. 

New York, : July 26th., 1788. 

" North Carolina November 21st., 1788. 

" Rhode Island, May 29th., 1790. 

Onthe4th of March 1789, theNATIONAL CONSTITUTION 
went into effect, and became the organic law of the land. The 
first Congress thereafter, met in the city of New York, and a 
quorum was formed on the 6th of April, 1789. 

The three most important powers of a government are — 
1st. That of making laws, or the Legislative power. 2nd. 
That of executing them, or the Executive power. 3rd. That 
of interpreting the laws, and applying them to individual 
cases, or the Judicial power. The first is vested in Congress, 
the second is vested in the President, and the third is vested 
in one Supreme Court, and such other courts as Congress may 
establish. The government therefore is divided into three 
independent branches, to wit — the Legislative — the Executive, 
and the Judiciary. 



74 GOVERNMENT LNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 

After the organization of the new goverment, the first 
matters brought before Congress were those pertaining to the 
financial affairs of the country, and forming a system of reve- 
nues, and also the business of organizing the different 
branches. 

There were three departments arranged for the executive, 
to wit, The Treasury, The War, and of Foreign Affairs, the 
heads of which were to be styled Secretaries, and were to 
constitute a Cabinet Council. 

A national Judiciary was also established, consisting of a 
Supreme Court of the United States, having one Chief Justice 
and five Associate Justices. District Courts were also estab- 
lished, and each State was made a district, and also three Cir- 
cuit Courts— the States being formed into three circuits. The 
question as to amendments to the Constitution was then 
brought forward, and also the Bills of Rights proposed by 
Virginia and New York. Twelve amendments were agreed to 
by Congress, but jnly ten of them subsequently ratified by the 
States. 

rThese ten amendments were ratified by the constitutional number 
Of States on the 15th of December 1791. Another the Eleventh was pro- 
posed on the 5th of March 1794. an d ratified on the 8th of January 1,98. 
The Twelfth was proposed in December 1803, and ratified on the 25th of 
Septembea 1804. The Thirteenth was ratified in 1865, the Fourteenth in 
1868, and the Fifteenth in 1870, all now being a part of the National Con- 
stitution.] 



THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT. 15 

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE 
GOVERNMENT. 

THE PRESIDENT. 

The executive power is vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He must be a natural born citizen, a resi- 
dent of the United States for fourteen years, and of the a°-e 
of thirty-five years or upwards. He holds his office during the 
the term of four years, and may be re-elected for a second 
term. 

He is the Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy, and 
with the consent of the Senate, appoints all cabinet, judicial 
and executive officers; has power to grant pardons and 
reprieves for offences against the United States, and it is his 
duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed. 

THE VICE-PRESIDENT. 
The Vice-President is elected at the same time, in the same 
manner, and for the same term as the President, and must 
have the same qualifications. In case of the death or disabil- 
ity of the President, the duties of the office devolve upon the 
Vice-President during the term. In case of the death or dis- 
ability of the Vice-President, the president of the Senate 
pro tempore takes his place. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 

The present mode of election of the President and Vice- 
President of the United States, is not, by the the direct vote of 
the people, but through the machinery of an "Electoral Col- 
lege." Each State has as many Electors, as it has Senators and 
Representatives in Congress, who must be chosen within thir- 
ty-four days preceding the first Wednesday of December of 
the year in which an election of President and Vice-President 
takes place. 

By an Act of Congress, approved January 23rd, 1845, the 
uniform time for holding elections for Electors in all the 
States of the Union, was fixed for the Tuesday next after the 
first Monday, in the month of November of the year in which 



76 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 

they arc to be appointed. Each State may also by law pro- 
vide for the filling of any vacancy or vacancies which may 
occur in its College of Electors, when such College meets to 
give its electoral vote, and if any State having held an election 
for the purpose of choosing electors, should fail to make a 
choice on the day appointed, then the Electors may be 
appointed on a subsequent day, in such manner as the State 
shall by law provide 

The Electors must meet at the capitol of their respective 
States, on the first Wednesday of December, and vote by dis. 
tinct ballots for President and Vice-Fresident, one of whom 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. 

Having made lists of the number of votes cast and for whom 
given, they must sign, certify, seal up, and transmit them 
by a special mes&enger to the President of the Senate, at Wash- 
ington. These are opened by the President of the Senate, and 
the votes are counted in the presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, who have convened on a day fixed for that 
purpose. 

The person having the greatest number of votes for Presi- 
dent is duly elected, if such a number be a majority of ihe 
whole number of electors appointed. If no person has such a 
majority, then from the persons having the highest number, 
not exceeding three, in the list of those voted for, the 
House of Representatives shall choose immediately, and by 
ballot, the President. In case they neglect to do this before 
the 4th of March following, then the Vice-President shall act 
as President, as he would in case of the death or other consti- 
tutional disability of the President. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS— HOW APPOINTED 

After each decennial enumeration, the aggregate representa- 
tive population of the United States is ascertained by the Sec- 
retary of the Interior. 

This was formerly done by adding to the whole number oi 
free persons in all the States, including those bound to service 
for a term of years, excluding the Indians not taxed, and three- 
fifths of all other persons. As the Members of the House of 
Representatives were limited by Act of May 23d, 1850, to 233, 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. ft 

this aggregate representative population was divided by that 
number, and the quotient, rejecting fractions, if any, was the 
ratio of apportionment for the several States. 

The loss by fractions vvas made up by assigning to as many 
States, having the largest fractions, as may be necessary to 
make the whole number of Representatives 233, one additional 
Member each, for its fraction. When new States were admit- 
ted, Representatives were assigned to such States on the above 
basis, in addition to the number limited, till the next census 
Thus under the census of 18G0 the ratio was found to be 
126,823. 

By a subsequent Act in March 1862, this ratio was changed 
and the number of Representatives after March 1863 was in- 
creased from 233 to 241, and subsequently increased by addi- 
tion of new States and an additional Representative to some 
of the States to 243. 

Now add to this 243, (the number of Representatives ) 
74, (the number of Senators,) and we have the number 
of Presidential Electors of 1S68, provided the Electoral Col- 
lege had been full, and all the States (37) had been represented • 
but as Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas had no vote, only 34 
States were represented. 



78 



APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES 



APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES. 



Prior to 1868 under Census 18G0 New Apportionment. Census 1870 

Alabama 8 

Arkansas 4 

California 4 

Connecticut 4 

Delaware 1 

Florida 2 

Georgia 9 

Illinois 19 

Indiana 13 

Iowa 9 

Kansas 3 

Kentucky 10 

Louisiana 6 

5 



Alabama 6 

Arkausas 3 

California 3 

Connecticut 4 

Delaware 1 

Florida 1 

Georgia 7 

Illinois 14 

Indiana 11 

Iowa 6 

Kansas 1 

Kentucky 9 

Louisiana 5 

Maine 5 

Maryland 5 

Massachusetts 10 

Michigan 6 

Minnesota 2 

Mississippi 5 

Missouri 9 

Nebraska ! 

Nevada 1 

New Hampshire 3 

New Jersey 5 

New York 31 

North Carolina 7 

Ohio 19 

Oregon 1 

Pennsylvania 24 

Rhode Island 2 

South Carolina 4 

Tennessee 8 

Texas 4 

Virginia 8 

Vermont 3 

West Virginia 3 

Wisconsin 6 

Total 243 



Mai: 



Maryland 6 

Massachusetts 11 

Michigan 9 

Minnesota 3 

Mississippi 6 

Missouri 13 

Nebraska 1 

Nevada 1 

New Hampshire 3 

New Jersey 7 

N e w Y o r k 33 

North Carolina 8 

Ohio 20 

Oregon 1 

Pennsylvania 27 

Rhode Island 2 

South Carolina 5 

Tennessee 10 

Texas 6 

Virginia 9 

Vermont 3 

West Virginia 3 

Wisconsin 8 

Total 292 



THE CABINET COUNCIL. 79 

THE CABINET. 

The Administrative business of the Country is attended to 
by several officers, having the titles of Secretaries &c. &c. 
who together form the Cabinet, and they are appointed by the 
President. It is now composed of the Secretary of State, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Secretary of the 
Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Postmaster-General, and the 
Attorney-General, who is the legal adviser of the Administra- 
tion, and the Official law authority. Each of these Secretaries 
has charge of a separate department. 

THE SECRETARY OF STATE 

has charge of the great seal of the United States, but cannot 
affix it to any instrument in writing, without authority from 
the President. He conducts all treaties we make with other 
powers, attends to the correspondence with our Ministers at 
foreign courts, and with Ministers of foreign courts residing 
here ; grants passports, &c. 

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 

superintends all the financial matters of the Government ; the 
settling of all the public accounts, and recommends to Con- 
gress any measure he may deem advisable for the condition 
of the revenue. 

THE SECRETARY OF WAR 

has the exclusive control of the military affairs of the Nation, 
and superintends every department of the same ; attends to the 
making of public surveys ; erection of fortifications, &c. The 
Adjutant-General's office ; Quartermaster-General's Bureau ; 
theOrdinance, Typographical, Medical, Engineer, and Subsis- 
tence Bureaus, all come under his supervision. 

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 

superintends generally all naval affairs, and directs the naval 
forces. The several Bureaus, such as of Docks, of Navy 
Yards, of Construction, Equipment, and repairs of Ordinance 
and Hydrography are all under his supervision. 



80 



THE CABINET COUNCIL. 



THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 

superintends all matters connected with the public domain, 
Indian Affairs, Patents, Public Buildings, Pensions, the Census, 
and the Expenditures of the Federal Judiciary. 

THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL 

has the charge of all postal arrangements within the United 
States, as well as with all Foreign States. The Contract Office, 
the Appointment Office, and the Inspection Office, all come 
under his supervision. 

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL 

is the Law Counsel for the President, and other officers of the 
Government. He is the Constitutional Ad viser of the Govern- 
ment, and defends the same when necessary. 




SEAL OF THE STATE DEPARTMEMT. 



NATIONAL CONGRESS. 81 

THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE 
GrOVEHNMENT. 

AU Legislative powers are vested in Congress, which con- 
sists of a Senate and House of Representatives, malagous to 
Parliament in Great Britain, which consists of a House of 
Lords and a House of Commons. 

SENATE. 

The Senate consists of two members from each State, elected 
by the Legislature thereof respectively for six years. They 
are divided into three classes, each one-third, which is renewed 
biennially. No person can be a Senator, who has not attained 
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabi- 
tant of the State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States is Ex- Officio, the 
President of the Senate. Besides its Legislative prerogatives, 
the Senate is vested with judicial functions, and its members 
may constitute a High Court of Impeachment; but the sole 
power of impeachment belongs to the Representatives. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

The members of the House of Representatives are elected 
by the people, to seats therein for two years, and the number 
of such members is in accordance with the population of the 
several States. In order to ascertain the number, each State 
is entitled to a census, which is taken every ten years, and 
heretofore in this computation, two-thirds of the Slaves, and 
Indians not taxed have been excluded. Each State, however 
is entitled to one Representative. 

To be qualified for this office, the person must be at least 
twenty-five years of age, at least seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and an inhabitant of the State in which he is 
chosen. 

The ratio based on the census of 1790, was one Representa- 

6 



82 THE FEDERAL COURTS. 

tive for every 33,500 inhabitants. The ratio according to the 
census of 1860, was one for every 126,823 persons, the whole 
number being limited to 233, but subsequently, by Act of 
March 4th, 1862, and by additional Act of March 3d, 1863, the 
ratio was changed ; the whole number after March 3d 1863 be- 
ing made 243. The representative ratio under the census of 
1870, is 135,239. (Vide page 77. ) 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT OF 
THE GOVERNMENT. 

The Judicial powers of the country are vested in the 
Supreme, Circuit and District Courts of the United States. 
These are called the Federal Courts. Congress however, may 
from time to time establish such other and inferior courts, as 
may be considered advisable. 

THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

This is the highest Judicial Tribunal in the land. It has a 
Chief Justice and eight associate Justices. It has exclusive juris- 
dictionin matters between the States, and appellate jurisdiction 
from final decrees and judgments of the Circuit Courts, in cases 
where the matters in dispute exclusive of costs exceed the sum of 
$2,000, and from final judgments and decrees of the highest 
courts of the several States in certain cases. It has also 
power to issue writs of prohibition and mandamus in certain 
cases. 

THE CIRCUIT COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

They are held by a Justice of the Supreme Court assigned to 
the Circuit, and by the Judge of the District in which the Court 
sits, conjointly. They have original jurisdiction concurrent with 
the courts of the several States, of all suits at Common Law ? 
or in Equity, when the matter in dispute exclusive of costs, ex- 
ceeds the sum of five hundred dollars and the United States are 



THE FEDERAL COURTS. 83 

plaintiff, or an alien is a party, or where the suit is between a 
citizen of the State where the suitis brought and another State. 

They have also exclusive cognizance of most of the crimes 
and offences cognizable under the authority of the United 
States, and concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court of 
offences cognizable therein. They have also appellate jurisdic- 
tion from judgments and final decrees of the District Courts of 
the United States, in all cases where the matter in dispute ex- 
ceeds the sum, or value of fifty dollars. 

The trial of issues of fad in all suits, excepting those of 
equity, and admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, is by a jury. 

THE DISTRICT COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
They have exclusive original jurisdiction of all civil cases of 
Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction, including all seizures 
under the navigation laws, or of impost, or trade of the United 
States, where they are made upon tide waters, saving however 
to suitors, the right of a common law remedy where the com- 
mon law gives it, also of all crimes and offences cognizable 
under the authority of the United States, committed within 
their respective Districts, or upon the high seas in certain 
cases. They have also concurrent jurisdiction with the State 
Courts in certain cases. The trial is by jury, except in civil 
cases of Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction. 

JUDGES HOW APPOINTED. 
The appointment of all Judges of the Federal Courts is 
made by the President, by, and with the approval and consent 
of the Senate, and they hold their offices during good behav- 
ior, and can be removed only on impeachment. 



84 



FEDERAL PAY-ROLL. 



SALARIES OF FEDERAL OFFICERS. 



President of the United States, - per annum, 

Vice President " - - " 

Secretary of State and other Cabinet 

Ministers, each - - - - 
Chief Justice Supreme Court, - 
Each Associate Justice Supreme Court " " 
Senators and Representatives,* 
Speaker House of Representatives, - " 
Secretary of the Senate, " 
Clerk House of Representatives, - " 
Superintendent Coast Survey, - " 
Ministers Plenipotentiary to Great Brit- 
ain and Fiance, ----** 
Ministers Plenipotentiary to Russia, 
Prussia, Spain, Austria, Italy, Chi- 
na, Brazil and Mexico, - - " 
Ministers Resident to Portugal and oth- 
er States, 

Consul ( ; cnerals, Per Annum, from $3,000.00 

Consuls, - - - " " 1.000.00 

Secretaries of Legation, " " 1,500.00 



$50,000.00 
8,000.00 

8,000.00 
10,500.00 
10,000.00 
5,000.00 
8,000.00 
8,600.00 
3,000.00 
6,000.00 

17,500.00 



12,000.00 

7,500.00 
to 6,000.00 
to 7,000.00 
to 2,700.00 



Senators and Representatives also receive twenty cents per mile as 

"^.OOi 



mileage. There is deducted from their salaries 
day's absence, unless caused by sickness. 



i per diem for each 



PRESIDENTS OF THE CONTINENTAL 
CONGRESS. 



From 1771 to 1789. 



Name. 


From what Colony. 


When Elected 


Born 


Died 


Peyton Randolph, 


Virginia, 


Sept 5, 1774 


1723 


1775 


Henry Middleton, 


South Carolina, 


Oct 22, 1774 






Peyton Randolph, 


Virginia, 


May 10, 1775 


i723 


i785 


John Hancock, 


Massachusetts, 


May 24, 1775 


1737 


1793 


Henry Laurens, 

John Jay. 

Samuel Huntington, 


South Carolina, 


Nov 1. 1777 


1724 


1792 


New York, 


Dec 10, 177S 


1745 


1829 


Connecticut, 


Sept 28, 1779 


1732 


1796 


Thomas McKean, 


Delaware, 


July 10, 1781 


1734 


1817 


John Hanson, 


Maryland, 


Nov 5, 1781 




1783 


Elias Boudinot, 


New Jersey. 


Nov 4, 1782 


i740 


1824 


Thomas Mifflin, 


Pennsylvania, 


Nov 3. 1783 


1744 


1800 


Richard Henry Lee, 


Virginia, 


Nov 30. 1784 


1732 


1794 


John Hancock, 


Massachusetts, 


Nov 23. 1785 


1737 


1775 


Nathaniel Gorham, 


Massachusetts, 


June 6. 1786 


1738 


1796 


Arthur St. Clair, 


Pennsylvania, 


Feb 2. 1787 




1818 


Cyrus Griffin, 


Virginia. 


Jan 22,1788 


1748 


1810 



SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION. 



85 



SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



Names 



Adams, John 

Adams, Samuel 

Bartlott, Josiah 

Braxton, Carter 

Carroll, Charles , 

Chase, Samuel 

Clark, Abraham 

Clymer, George 

Ellery, William 

Floyu, William 

Franklin, Benjamin. . . 

Gerry, Elbrid;:e 

G".vinnett, Button 

Hall, Lyman 

Hancock, John 

Harrison, Benjamin. . . 

Hart, John 

Hey ward, Thomas, Jr. 

Hewes, Joseph 

Hooper, William 

Hopkins, Stephen 

Hopkiason, Francis... 
Huntington, Samuel.. 

Jefferson, Thomas 

Lee, Francis Liglitfoot 
Lee, Richard Henry... 

Lewis, Francis 

Livingston, Philip 

Lynch, Thomas, Jr.... 

McKean, Thomas 

Middleton, Arthur 

Moris, Lewis 

Morris, Robert 

Morton, John 

Nelson, Thomas, Jr... 

Paca, William 

Paine, Robert Treat... 

Pcnn, John 

Read, George 

Rodney, Caesar 

Ross, G mrge 

Rush, Benjamin, M.D. 

Rutledge, Edward 

Sherman, Roger 

Smith, James 

Stockton, Richard 

Stone, Thomas 

Taylor, George 

Thornton, Matthew... 

Walton, George 

Whipple, William 

Williams, William 

Wilson, James 

Witherspoon, John... 

Woleott, Oiiver 

Wythe, George 



Time and plaee of birth. 



Braintree, Mass Oct. 

Boston, Mass Sept. 

Amesbury, Mass in Nov 

Newingtou, Va Sept, 

Annapolis, Md ept. 

Somerset Co., Md Apr. 

Elizabethtown, N. J. ...Feb. 

Philadelphia, Pa in 

Newport, R. I Doc. 

Suffolk Co., N. Y Dec. 

Boston, Mass J sn. 

Marblehead, Mass Jaly 

England in 

Connecticut in 

Braintree, Mass in 

Berkcly, Va 

Hopewell, N.J about 

■>t. Luke's, S. C in 

Kingston. N.J in 

Boston, Mass June 

Scituate, R. I March 

Philadelphia , Penn in 

Windham, Conn July 

Shadwell, V a April 

Stratford, V a Oct. 

Stratford, Va Jan. 

Landaff, Wales in Mar., 

Albany, N.Y Jan. 

St. George's, S. C Aug. 

Chester Co., Pa Mar. 

Middleton Place, S. C.in 

Morrisania, N. Y in 

Lancashire, Eng Jan., 

Ridley, Pa i n 

York, Va Dec. 

Wye Hill, Md Oct. 

Boston, Mass in 

Caroline Co., Va May 

Cecil Co., Md in 

Dover, Del in 

New Castle, Del in 

Byberry, Pa Dec. 

Charleston, S. C in Nov., 

Newton, Mass April 

Ireland 

Princeton, N.J Oct. 

Charles Co., Md in 

Ireland in 

Ireland in 

Frederick Co., Va in 

Kittery, Me in 

Lebanon, Conn April 

Scotland about 

Vaster, Scotland Feb 

Windsor, Conn Nov 

Elizabeth City Co.,Va.in 



10, 1735 
27,1722 
, 1729 

10. 1736 

20. 1737 
17, 1741 

15. 1726 
1739 

22. 1727 
17, 1734 
17, 1706 
17, 171 -1 

1732 
1731 
1 



Died. 



1 

1746 

1 

17.1742 

7, 1707 

1737 

3, 1732 

13, 1743 

14, 1734 

20, 1732 
1713 

15, 1746 
5, 1749 

19,1731 
1743 
1726 

1733-'4 
1724 

26, 1738 

31, 1740 
1731 

17, 1741 
1734 
1730 
1730 

24, 1745 
1749 

19, 1721 



•July 

Oct. 

.May 

Oct. 

Nov. 

June 

Sept., 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Aug. 

April 

Not. 

May 

Feb., 

Oct. 

April, 

March, 

Nov. 

Oct., 

July 

May 

Jan. 

July 

April, 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Lost at 

June 

Jan. 

Jan. 

May 

April, 

Jan. 

May 
Oct. 



4, 1826 

2, 1803 

19, 1795 

10. 1797 
14, 1832 
19, 1811 

1794 
23,1813 
15, 1820 
4, 1821 
17, 1790 
23, 1814 

27, 1777 
1790 

8, 1793 

1791 

1780 

1809 

10, 1779 

1790 

13, 1785 

9.1790 

5, 1796 

4, 1S26 

1797 

19, 1794 

30. 1803 
12, 1778 

sea, 1779 

24, 1817 

1, 1787 

22. 1798 
8,1806 

1777 

4, 1789 

1799 

11. 1804 
26, 1809 

1796 

1783 

1779 

19,1813 

23, 1800 

23. 1793 
11,1806 

28, 1781 
5, 1787 

28, 1787 
24, 1803 

2, 1S05 
28, 1785 

2, 1811 
28, 1798 

15. 1794 
1, 1797 
8. 1S06 



86 



PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS. 



PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS OF UNITED STATES. 



PRESIDENTS. 



Year of 
qualific'n. 


Name. 


1789 


John Adams 


1797 


1801 


Thomas Jefferson 


1809 


James Madison 


1817 


James Monroe 


1824 

1829 


John Quinev Adams 

Andrew Jackson 


\837 


Martin Van Bnren 


1841 


Wm. Henrv Harrison*.... 
John Tvlef 


1845 


James Knox Polk 


1849 


Zacharv Taylor* 


1850 


Millard Fillmore 


1853 


Franklin Pierce 


1857 




1861 




18f>5 


Andrew Johnson 


1869 





Where from. 



Virginia 

Massachusetts .. 

Virginia 

Virginia 

Virginia 

Massachusetts .. 

Tennessee 

New York 

Ohio 

Virginia 

Tennessee 

Louisiana 

New York 

New Hampshire 
Pennsylvania .... 

Illinois 

Tennessee 

Illinois 



Term of office. 



years. 

years. 

years. 

years. 

years. 

years. 

years. 

years. 

month. 

yrs.. 11 mos. 

years. 

yr., 4 m., 5 d. 

yr., 7 m., 26 d. 

years. 

vears. 

yr., 1 m., 10 d. 

yr.. 10m.,20d. 

years. 



VICE-PRESIDENTS. 



Year of 
qualification. 


Name. 


Where from. 


1789 


John Adams 


Massachusetts. 
Virginia. 


1797 


Thomas Jefferson 


I SOI 


Aaron Burr 


1804 


George Clinton 




1813 


Elbridge Gerrv 




1817 






1824 


John C. Calhoun 


South Carolina. 




Martin Van Buren 


1837 


Richard M. Johnson 


Kentucky. 


1S41 


John Tyler 


1842 


Samuel L. Southard?... 


New Jersey. 
Pennsylvania. 


1845 




1849 


Millard Fillmore . 


1851 


William R King? 




1853 








Jesse D Bright? 




1S57 




Kentucky. 


1861 




1865 






1865 


Lafayette C Foster? 


Connecticut. 


1869 


Schuyler Colfax.... 


1873 


Henry Wilson* 

Thomas W. Ferre§... 


Massachusetts. 
Michigan. 


1875 



* Died in office. 

§ JEx-oJicio as President pro tern, of the Senate. 



CABINET OFFICERS, 



87 



SECRETARIES OF STATE. 



Names. 



Thomas Jefferson, 
Edmund Randolph, 
Timothy Pickering, 
John Marshall, 
James Madison, 
Robert Smith, 
James Monroe, 
John Quincy Adams, 
Henry Clay, 
Martin Van Buren, 
Edward Livingston, 
Louis McLane, 
John Forsyth, 
Daniel "Webster, 
Hugh S. Legare, 
Abel P.Upshur, 
John C. Calhoun, 
James Buchanan, 
John M. Clayton, 
Daniel Webster, 
Edward Everett, 
"William L. Marcy, 
Lewis Cass, 
Jeremiah S. Black, 
William H. Seward, 
Elihu B.Washburne, 
Hamilton Fish, 



State. 


Term of 
Service. 


Born 


Died 


Virginia 


1789-1794 


1743 


1826 


Virginia 


1794-1795 




1813 


Massachusetts 


1795-1S00 


1745 


1829 


Virginia 


1800-1801 


1755 


1836 


Virginia 


1801-1809 


1751 


1837 


Massachusetts 


1S09-1811 






Virginia 


1811-1817 


1759 


1831 


Massachusetts 


1817-1825 


1767 


1848 


Kentucky 


1825-1829 


1777 


1852 


New York 


1829-1831 


1782 


1862 


Louisiana 


1831-1833 


17C4 


1836 


Delaware 


1833-1835 


1786 


1857 


Georgia 


1835-1841 


17 SO 


1841 


Massachusetts 


1841-1843 


1782 


1852 


South Carolina 


1843-1843 


1797 


1843 


Virginia 


1843-1844 


1790 


1844 


South Carolina 


1844-1845 


1782 


1850 


Pennsylvania 


1845-1849 


1791 


1868 


Delaware 


1849-1850 


1796 


1856 


Massachusetts 


1850-1852 


1782 


1852 


Massachusetts 


1852-1853 


1794 


1865 


New York 


185:3-1857 


1786 


1860 


Michigan 


1857-18G1 


1782 




Pennsylvania 


1861-1861 


1810 




New York 


1861-1869 


1801 




Illinois, 


1869 






New York 


1869 




.... 



SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY. 



Names. 



Alexander Hamilton 
Oliver Wolcott 
Samuel Dexter 
Albert Gallatin 
George W. Campbell 
Alexander J. Dallas 
"William H. Crawford 
Richard Rush 
Samuel D. Ingham 
Louis McLane 
"William S. Duane 
Roger B. Taney 
Levi Woodbury 
Thomas Ewing 



State 


When 
app'd 


N. Y 


1789 


Conn 


1795 


Mass 


1801 


Penn 


1802 


Tenn 


1814 


Penn 


1814 


Ga 


1817 


Penn 


1825 


Penn 


1829 


Del 


1831 


Penn 


1833 


Md 


1833 


N. H 


1834 


Ohio 


1841 * 



Names. 



Walter Forward 
John C. Spencer 
George M. Bibb 
Robert J.Walker 
William M. Meredith 
Thomas Corwin 
James Guthrie 
Howell Cobb 
Philip F. Thomas 
John A. Dix 
Salmon P. Chase 
Wm P. Fessenden 
Hugh McCullock 
'George S. Boutwell 

IWm. A. Richardson 
Benj. H. Bristow 



State 


When 




app'd 


Penn 


1841 


N. Y 


1843 


Ry 


1844 


Miss 


1845 


Penn 


1849 


Ohio 


1850 


Ky 


1853 


Ga 


1857 


.Vd 


1860 


X. Y 


1861 


Ohio 


1861 


Me 


1864 


Ind 


1865 


Mass 


1869 


Mass 


1873 


Ky. 


1874 



88 



CABINET OFFICERS. 



SECRETARIES OF WAR. 



Names. 



Henry Knox 
Timothy Pickering 
James McHenry 
Samuel Dexter 
Roger Griswold 
Henry Dearborn 
"William Eustis 
John Armstrong 
James Monroe 
William H. Crawford 
George Graham 
John C. Calhoun 
James Barhour 
Peter B. Porter 
John H, Eaton 
Lewis Cass 
Benjamin F. Butler 



State 



Mass 

Penn 

Md 

Mass 

Conn 

Mass 

Mass 

X. Y 

Va 

Ga 

Va 

S. C 

Va 

N. Y 

Tenn 

Mich 

N.T 



When 
app'd 



1789 
1T95 
1796 

1800 
1801 
1801 
1809 
1813 
1814 
1815 
1817 
1817 
1825 
1828 
1829 
1831 
1837 



Names 



Joel R. Poinsett 
John Bell 
John C. Spencer 
James M. Porter 
William Wilkins 
William L. Marcy 
George W. Crawford 
Charles M. Corad 
Jefferson Davis 
John B.Floyd 
Joseph Holt 
Simon Cameron 
Edwin M. Stanton* 
John M. Schofield 
John A. Rawlins 
William W. Belknap 
Alphonso Taft 



State 



S. C 

Tenn 

N. Y 

Penn 

Penn 

N.T 

Ga 

La 

Miss 

Va 

£r 

Penn 

Penn 

N. Y 

111 

Iowa 

Ohio 



When 
app'd 



1837 
1841 
1«41 
1S43 
1S44 
1845 
1849 
1850 
1853 
1857 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1868 
1869 

1876 



SECRETARIES OF THE MVY. 



Names. 



George Cabot 
Benjamin Stoddert 
Robert Smith 
Jacob Crowninshield 
Paul Hamilton 
William Jones 
B. W. Crowninshield 
Smith Thompson 
John Roclgers 
Samuel L. Southard 
John Branch 
Levi Woodbury 
Mahlon Dickerson 
James K Paulding 
George E. Badger 



State. 


When 
app'd- 


Mass 


1798 


Md 


1798 


Md 


1801 


Mass 


1805 


S. C 


1S09 


Penn 


1813 


Mass 


1814 


N. Y 


1818 




1823 


N.J 


1823 


N. C 


1829 


X. H 


1831 


N.J 


1834 


N.Y 


1838 


N. C 


1841 



Names 



Abel P. Upshur 
David Henshaw 
Thomas W. Gilmer 
John Y. Mason 
George Bancroft 
John Y. Mason 
William B. Preston 
William A. Graham 
John P. Kennedy 
James C. Dobbin 
Isaac Toucey 
Gideon Wells 
Adolph E. Borie 
George M. Robeson 



State 



Va 

Mass 

Va 

Va 

Mass 

Va 

Va 

N.C 

Md 

N.C 

Conn 

Conn 

Penn 

N.J 



When 
app'd 



1841 
1843 
1844 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1849 
1S50 
1852 
1853 
1857 
1861 
1869 
1869 



POST MASTERS-GEXERAL. 






Names. 


State 


When 
app'd. 


Names 


State 


When 
app'd 


Samuel Osgood 


Mass 


1789 


Jacob Collamer 


Vt 


1S49 


Timothy Pickering 


Penn 


1791 


Nathan K. Hall 


N. Y 


1850 


Joseph Habersham 


Ga 


1795 


Samuel D. Hubbard 


Conn 


1852 


Gideon Granger 


Conn 


1801 


James Campbell 


Penn 


1853 


Return Meigs, Jr. 


Ohio 


1814 


Aaron V. Brown 


Tenn 


1857 


John McLean 


Ohio 


1823 


Joseph Holt 


Ky 


1860 


William T. Barry 


ky 


1829 


Horatio King 




1860 


Amos Kendall 


Ky 


1835 


Montgomery Blair 


Md 


1861 


John M. Niles 


Conn 


1840 


William Dennison 


Ohio 


1865 


Francis Granger 


N. Y 


1841 


Alex. W. Randall 


Wis 


1866 


Charles A. Wickliffe 


KV 


1841 


John A. J. Creswell 


Md. 


1869 


Cave Johnston 


Tenn 


1845 Marshall Jewell 


Conn 


1874 



SECRETARIES AND JDSTICES. 



89 



ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. 



Names. 



Edmund Randolph 
William Bradford 
Charles Lee 
Levi Lincoln 
Robert Smith 
John Breckenridge 
Caesar A. Rodney 
William Pinkney 
Richard Rush 
William Wirt 
John M. Berrien 
Roger B. Taney 
Benjamin F. Butler 
Felix Grundy 
Henry 1). Gilpin 
John J. Crittenden 



?tate 


When 
app'd 




Va 


1783 


Penn 


1794 


Va 


1793 


Mass 


1801 


Vid 


1805 


Ky 


1805 


Del 


1807 


Md 


1811 


Penn 


1814 


Va 


1817 


Gi 


1829 


Md 


1831 


N. Y 


1833 


Tenn 


1838 


Penn 


1840 


Ky 


1841 



Names 



Hugh S. Legare 
John Nelson 
John Y. Mason 
Nathan Clifford 
Isaac Toucey 
Reverdy Johnson 
John J. Crittendon 
Caleb Cushing 
Jeremiah S. Black 
Edwin M. Stanton 
Edward Bates 
James Speed 
Henry Stanberry • 
William M. Evarts 
E Rockwood Hoar 
George H. Williama 
Edward Pierrepont 



State 



S. C 
Md 
Va 
Me 
Conn 
Md 
Ky 
Mass 
Penn 
Penn 
Mo 
Ky 
Ohio 
N. Y 
Mass 
Ore'n 
N.Y. 



When 
app'd 



1841 
1843 
1845 
1846 
1848 
2849 
1850 
1853 
1857 
1860 
1861 
1864 
1866 
1868 
1869 
1869 
1875 



SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR. 



Thomas Ewing 
T. M.T. McKennan 
Alex'r H.H. Stewart 
Robert McClelland 
Jacob Thompson 
Caleb B. Smith 



Ohio 


1849 


Penn 


1850 


Va 


1850 


Mich 


1853 


Miss 


1S57 


Ind 


1861 



John P. Usher 
James Harlan 
O. H. Browning 
Jacob I). Cox 
Columbus D'lano 
Zachaiiah Chandler 



Ind 

Iowa 

111 

Ohio 

Ohio 

Mich 



1862 
1865 
1866 
1869 
1869 
1875 



CHIEF JUSTICES U. S. SUPREME COURT. 



John Jay 


IN. Y. 


1789 


Roger B. Taney 


Md 


1836 


John Rutledge 


B.C. 


1795 


Salmon P. Chase 


Ohio 


1864 


Oliver Ellsworth 


jCoun , 


1796 


Morrison R. Waite 


Ohio 


1874 


John Marshall 


Va 1 


1801 









ASSOCIATE JUSTICES U. S. SUPREME COURT. 



J.»hn Rutledge 
William Cushing 
James Wilson 
John Blair 
Robert H. Harrison 
James Iredell 
Thomas Johnson 
William Patterson 
Samuel Chase 
Bushrod Washington 
Alfred Moore 
William Johnson 
Brock Livingston 
Thomas Todd 
Joseph Story 
Gabriel Duval 
Smith Thompson 
Robert Trimble 
J ..hn McLean 
Ward Hunt 



s. c 


1789 


Mass 


1789 


Penn 


1789 


Va 


1789 


Md 


1789 


N. C 


1790 


Md 


1791 


N.J 


1793 


Md 


1796 


Va 


1798 


N. C 


1799 


S. C 


1804 


N.Y 


1806 


Ky 


1807 


Mass 


1811 


Md 


1811 


N.Y 


1823 


Ky 


1826 


Ohio 


1829 


N. Y. 


1872 



Henry Baldwin 
James M. Wayne 
Philip P. Barbour 
John Catron 
William Smith 
John McKinley 
Peter V. Daniel 
Samuel Nelson 
Levi Woodbury 
Robert C. Grier 
Benjamin R. Curtis 
Tames A. Campbell 
Nathan Clifford 
Noah H. Swayne 
Samuel F. Miller 
David Davis 
Stephen J. Field 
William M. Strong 
Joseph P. Bradley 



Penn 

Ga 

Va 

Tenn 

Ala 

Ala 

Va 

N.Y 

N.H 

Penn 

Mass 

Ala 

Me 

Ohio 

Iowa 

HI 

Cal 

Pa 

N.J 



1830 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1837 
1837 
1841 
1845 
1845 
1846 
1851 
1853 
1858 
1862 
1862 
1862 
1863 
1870 
1870 



90 NAMES OF SPEAKEES. 

NAMES OF THE SPEAKERS 

OF THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

From 1789 to 1872. 



1st Congress.— Frederick Augustus Muhlenburgh, of 
Pennsylvania, was elected speaker of the house of repre- 
sentatives, April 1, 1789, and served to March 3, 1791. 

2d Congress. — Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut, was 
elected speaker, and served from the 24th of October, 
1791, to March 3, 1793. 

3d Congress. — Frederick Augustus Muhlenburgh, of 
Pennsylvania, was elected speaker, and served from De- 
cember 2, 1793, to 3d of March, 1795. 

4th and 5th Congresses. — Jonathan Dayton, of New Jer- 
sey, was elected speaker, and served from 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1795, to 3d of March, 1799. 

6th Congress. — Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, 
was elected speaker, and served from 2d December. 1799, 
to 3d March, 1801. 

7th, 8th and 9th Congresses. — Nathaniel Macon, of North 
Carolina, was elected speaker, and served from 7th Decem- 
ber, 1801, to March 3, 1807. 

10th and lltJi Congresses. — Joseph B. Varnum, of Massa- 
chusetts, was elected speaker, and served from October 
26, 1807, to 3d March, 1811. 

12th, 13th, lAth, 15th and lQth Congresses.— Henry Clay, 
of Kentucky, was elected speaker, and served from 4th 
November, 1811, to 3d March, 1821. 

17th Congress. — Philip P. Barbour, of Virginia, was 
elected speaker, and served from 3d December, 1821, to 
8d of March, 1823. 



NAMES- OF SPEAKERS. 91 

18th Congress. — Henry Clay, of Kentucky, was elected 

speaker, and served from 1st of December, 1823, to March 

3, 1825. 
19th Congress. — John W. Taylor, of New York, was 

elected speaker, and served from December 5, 1825, to 

March 3, 1827. 
20th, 21st, 22d and 23c? Congresses. — Andrew Stephenson, 

of Virginia, was elected speaker, and served from 3d 

December, 1827, to 3d of June, 1834 ; and John Bell, 

of Tennessee, was, on the 4th of June, 1834, elected to 

serve out the balance of the 23d Congress, which ended 

on the 3d of March, 1835. 
2Uh and 25th Congresses. — James K. Polk, of Tennesseei 

was elected speaker, and served from 7th December, 

1835, to March 3, 1839. 
26th Congress. — Robert M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, was 

elected speaker, and served from the 16th of December, 

1839. to March 3, 1841. 
27th Congress.— John White, of Kentucky, was elected 

speaker, and served from 31st May, 1841, to March 3, 

1843. 
28th Congress. — John W. Jones, of Virginia, was elected 

speaker, and served from 4th December 1843, to March 

3, 1845. 
29th Congress. — John W. Davis, of Indiana, was elected 

speaker, and served from 1st December 1845, to March 

3, 1847. 
30th Congress. — Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, 

was elected speaker, and served from the 6th of Decem- 
ber, 1847, to March 3, 1849. 
31st Congress. — Howell Cobb, of Georgia, was elected 

speaker, and served from 24th December, 1849, to March 

3,1851. 
32c? and 33c? Congresses. — Linn Boyd, of Kentucky, was 

elected speaker, and served from 4th December, 1851, to 

March 3, 1855. 



92 NAMES OF SPEAKERS. 

34^ Congress. — Nathaniel P. Banks, Jr., of Massachu- 
setts, was elected speaker, and served from February 2, 

1856, to March 3, 1857. 
S5tk Congress. — James L. Orr, of South Carolina, was 

elected speaker, and served from December 7, 1857, to 

March 3, 1859. 
36^ Congress. — William Pennington, of New Jersey, 

was elected speaker, February 1, 1860, and served to 

March 3, 1861. 
37th Congress. — Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, was 

elected speaker, July 4, 1861, and served to March 3, 

186a 
2Sth Congress. — Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was elected 

speaker, December 7, 1863, and served to March 4, 1865. 
3Wi Congress. — Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was elected 

speaker December 4, 1865, and served to March 4, 1867. 
40th Congress. — Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was elected 

speaker March 4, 1867, and served to March 4, 1869. 
4\st Congress. — James G. Blaine, of Maine, was elected 

speaker, March 4, 1869, to serve to March 4, 1871. 
42d. Congress. — James G. Blaine, of Maine, was elected 

speaker, March 4, 1871, to serve to March 4, 1873. 
43c?. Congress. — James G. Blaine, of Maine, was elected 

speaker, March 4, 1873, to serve to March 4, 1875. 
44th Congress. —Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana, was elected 
speaker, March 4, 1875, to serve to March 4, 1877. 

45th Congr-ess. — Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania. 



GOVERNMENT OFFICERS. 93 

EXISTING GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

AND THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS THEREOF. 

1879. 

o 

THE EXECUTIVE. 

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, of Ohio, President of the U. S. 
WILLIAM A. WHEELER, of New York, Vice-President, U. S. 

THE CABINET. 

WILLIAM M. EVARTS, of New York, Secretary of State. 
JOHN SHERMAN, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury. 
ALEXANDER RAMSEY, of Minn., Secretary of War. 
RICHARD M. THOMPSON, of Indiana, Sec. of the Navy. 
CARL SCHURZ, of Missouri, Secretary of the Interior. 
HORACE MAYNARD, of Tennessee, Postmaster General. 
CHARLES DEVENS, of Massachusetts, Attorney General. 

THE JUDICIARY, 

MORRISON R. WAITE, of Ohio, Chief Justice. 
Nathan Clifford, of Maine, - - Associate Justice. 
Noah H. Swayne, of Ohio, - - - " " 

Samuel F. Miller, of Iowa, - - - " " 

John M. Harlan, of Kentucky, - - " " 

Stephen J. Field, of California, - . - " " 

William M. Strong, of Pennsylvania, " " 

Josepe P. Bradley, of New Jersey, - " " 

Ward Hunt, of New York, - -" - " " 

MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

ENYO YS EXTRA ORDINAR Y AND MINISTERS PLENI- 
POTENTIARY. 
Country. Capital. Minister. State. 

Austria-Hungary... Vienna John A. Kasson. Iowa. 

Brazil Rio Janeiro Henry W. Hilliard Ga. 

Chili Santiago Cornelius A. Logan.. .Kan. 

China Pekin George F. Seward N. Y. 

France Paris Edward F. Noyes Ohio. 

Great Britain London John Welsh Pa. 

Italy Rome George P. Marsh Vt. 

Japan Yeddo John A Bingham Ohio. 

Mexico Mexico John W. Foster Ind. 

Peru Lima Richard Gibbs N. Y. 

Germany Berlin Bayard Taylor * Pa. 

Rns-ia St. Petersburg. Edwin W. Stoughton..N. Y. 

Spain Madrid Janjes R. Lowell Mass. 

•Deceased. Succeeded by Andrew D. White, of New York. 



94 MIHISTERS RESIDENT, AND CONSULS GENERAL. 

MINISTERS RESIDENT. 

Country. Capital. Minister. State. 

Argentine Republic Buenos Ayres Thomas O. Osborn...IH. 

Belgium Brussels William C. Goodloe. . .Ky. 

Central American States Guatemala Geo. Williamson La. 

Hawaiian Islands Honolulu Jas. M. Comly Ohio. 

Hayti Port-au-Prince. . . John M. Langston Ohio. 

Liberia Monrovia John H. Smy the Ga. 

Netherlands The Hague James Birney Mich. 

Sweden and Norway Stockholm John L. Stevens Me. 

Turkey Constantinople. . .Horace Maynard Tenn. 

Venezuela Caracas Elihu Baker 111. 

CHARGES D' AFFAIRES. 

Denmark Copenhagen M. J. Cramer Ky. 

Greece Athens John M. Read Pa. 

Portugal Lisbon Benjamin Moran Pa. 

Switzerland Berne Nicholas Fish N. T. 

Uruguaj & Paraguay Montevideo John C. Caldwell Me. 

CONSULS GENERAL. 

Austria-Hungary Vienna P. Sidney Post Pa. 

Brazil Rio Janeiro Thomas Adamson Pa. 

China Shanghai 

France Paris Lucius Fairchild Minn. 

Germany Berlin H. Kreismann 111. 

" Frankfort AlfredE. Lee Ohio. 

Italy Rome Charles McMillan N. T. 

Great Britain Calcutta A. C. Litchfield Mich. 

•« " London AdamBadeau N.Y. 

•' " Melbourne O.M.Spencer 

•' " Montreal John Q. Smith Ohio. 

japan Kanagawa Thos. B. Van Buren....N. J. 

Mexico Mexico Justin E. Colburn Vt . 

Russia St. Petersburg. . . Wm. H. Edwards Ohio. 

Spain Havana Henry C. Hall Conn. 

Turkey Constantinople . . . G. Harris Heap 

" Cairo E . E . Farman N. T. 



FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



95 



THE FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 

Term extends from March 4th, 1879, to March 4th, 1S81. 



LIST OF MEMBERS. 






SENATE. 




Fbesident of the Senate, William A. Wheeleb, of New York. 


Secbetaky, 


George C. Gobham, of Califor 


n<i. 


Term Expires. 
Alabama. 


Term Expirea. 
Indiana. 


John T. Morgan. . 
Luke Pry or . . . 


. . 1883 
. . 1885 


Joseph E. McDonald 
Daniel W. Voorhees 


1881 

. 1885 


Arkansas. 




Iowa. 




Augustus H. Garland 1883 
James D. Walker. . . . 1885 


Samuel J. Kirkwood 
William B. Allison . 


1883 
. 1885 


California. 




Kansas. 




Newton Booth . . . 
James T. Farley . . 


. 1881 
. 1885 


Preston B. Plumb . 
John J. Ingalls . . 


1883 
1885 


Colorado. 




Kentucky. 




Henry M. Teller . 
Nathaniel P. Hill . 


. . 1883 
. . 1885 


James B.Beck .... 
John G. Williams . . 


1883 
1885 


Connecticut. 




Louisiana. 




William W. Eaton 
Orville H. Piatt . 


. . 1881 
. . 1885 


William Pitt Kellogg 


1883 
1885 


Delaware. 




Maine. 




Thomas F. Bayard 


. . 1881 
1883 


Hannibal Hamlin . . 
James G. Blaine . . . 


1881 
1883 


Florida. 




Maryland. 




Charles W. Jones . 
Wilkinson Call . . 


. . 1881 
. . 1885 


William P. Vhyte . . 
James B. Groome . . 


1881 
1885 


Georgia. 




3Iassachusetts. 




Benjamin H. Hill . 
John P. Gordon . . 


. . 1883 

. . 1885 


Henry L. Dawes . . . 
George F. Hoar . . . 


1881 
1883 


Illinois. 




Michigan. 






. 1883 


H. P. Baldwin . 
Thomas W. Ferry . . 


1881 
1883 



96 



FOBTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



Term Expires. 
Minnesota. 

S. J. R.McMillan . . 1881 

William VVindom . . 1883 

Mississippi. 

Blanche K. Bruce . . 1881 

L. Q. C. Lamar . . . 1883 

Missouri. 

Francis M. Cockrell . 1881 

George G. Best .... 1885 

Nebraska. 

Algernon S. Paddock 1881 

Alvin Saunders .... 1883 

Nevada. 

William Sharon . . . 1881 

John P. Jones .... 1885 

New Hampshire. 

Edward H. Rollins . . 1883 

Henry W. Blair . 1885 

New Jersey, 

Theodore F. Randolph 1881 
John R. McPherson . 1883 

New Fork. 

Francis Kernan . . . 1881 
Roseoe Conkling . . . 1885 

North Carolina. 

Matt. W. Ransom . . 1883 

Zebulon B. Vance .. . 1885 

Ohio. 

Allen G. Thurman . . 1881 
George H Pe?tdleton . 1885 



Term Expires. 
Oregon. 

Lafayette Grover . . . 1883 

James II. Slater . . . 1885 

Pennsylvania. 

William A. Wallace . 1881 

James D. Cameron . . 1S85 

Rhode Island. 

Ambrose E. Burnside 1881 

Henry B. Anthony . . 1883 

South Carolina. 

Manning C. Butler . 1883 

Wade Hampton . . . 1885 

Tennessee. 

James E. Bailey . . . 1881 

Isham G. Harris . . . 1883 

Texas. 

Samuel B. Maxey . . 1881 

Richard Coke 1883 

Vermont. 

George F. Edmunds . 1881 

Justin S. Morrill . . . 1885 

Virginia. 

Robert E. Withers . . 1881 

John W. Johnston . . 1883 

West Virginia. 

Frank Hereford . . . 1881 

Henry G. Davis . . . 1883 

Wisconsin. 

Angus Cameron . . . 1881 

Matt. W. Carpenter . 1885 



Republicans (in Roman) 33. — Democrats (in Italics) 41. — 
Independent (in small caps) 1. — Doubtful 1. — Total 7d 



FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



97 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



Speaker, ....Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania. 
Clekk, George M. Adams, of Kentucky. 



Alabama — 8. 

Thomas H. Herndon. 
Hilary A. Herbert. 
Win. J. Stamford. 
Charles M. Shelly. 
Thomas Williams. 
Burwell B. Lewis. 
Wm. II. Korney. 
Wm, M. Lowe. 

Arkansas — 4. 

Poiudexter Dunn. 
William F. Slemons. 
Jordan E. Cravens. 
Thomas M. Gunter. 

California — 4.* 

Horace Davis. 
Horace F. Page. 
C. P. Berry. 
R. Paclieco. 

Colorado — 1. 
J. B. Belford. 
Connecticut — 4. 

Joseph R. Hawley. 
James Phelps. 
John T. Wait. 
Frederick Miles. 

Delaware — 1. 

Edward L. Martin. 

Florida — 2. 

Robert H. M. Davidson. 
Noble A. Hull. 

Georgia — 9. 

JohnE. Nichols. 
William E. Smith. 
Philip Cook. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
II. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 



Henry Persons. 
N. J. Hammond. 
James H. Blount. 
William H. Felton. 
Alexander H. Stephens. 
Emery Speer. 

Illinois — 19. 

William Aldrich. 
George R. Davis. 
Hiram Barber Jr. 
John C. Sherwin. 
R. M. A. Hawk. 
Thomas J. Henderson. 
Philip C. Hayes. 
Greenbury L. Fort. 
Thomas A. Boyd. 
Benjamin F. Marsh. 
James W. Singleton. 
William M. Springer. 
A. E. Stevenson. 
Joseph G. Cannon. 
Albert S. Forsythe. 
William A. J. 'Sparks. 
William R Morrison. 
John R. Thomas. 
Richard W. Townsend. 

Indiana — 13. 

William Hellman. 
Thomas R. Cobb. 
George A Bicknell. 
Jeptha D. New. 
Thomas M. Browne. 
Will am R. Myers. 
Gilbert DeLaMatyr. 
Andrew J. Hastetter. 
Godlove S. Orth. 
William H. Calkins. 
Calvin Cowgill. 



* Elects new members in Sept. 1879. 



93 



FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



12. Walpole G. Colerick. 

13. John H. Baker. 

Iowa — 9. 

1. Moses A. McCoid. 

2. Hiram Price. 

3. Thomas Updegraff. 

4. Nathaniel C. Deering. 

5. W. (i. Thompson. 

0. J. B. Weaver. 

7. E. H. Gillette. 

8. William F. Sapp. 

9. Cyrus C. Carpenter. 

Kansas — 3. 

1. John A. Anderson. 

2. Dudley C. Haskell. 

3. Thomas Ryan. 

Kentucky — 10. 

1. Oscar Turner. 

2. James A. McKenzie. 

3. John W. Caldwell. 

4. J. Proctor Knott. 

5. Albert G. Willis. 

6. John G. Carlisle. 

7. Joseph C. S. Blackburn. 

8. Philip B. Thompson Jr. 

9. Thomas Turner. 
10. Elijah C. Phister. 

Louisiana — 6. 

1. Randall L. Gibson. 

2. E. John Ellis. 

:>. Joseph H. Acklen. 

4. Joseph B. Elam. 

5. J. Floyd King. 

6. Edward W. Robertson. 

Maine — 5. 

1. Thomas B. Reed. 

2. William P. Frye. 

3. Stephen D. Lindsey. 

4. George W. Ladd. 

5. Thompson H. Murch. 

Maryland — 6. 

1 Daniel M. Henry. 

3. J. F. C. Talbott. 

3. William Kimmell. 

4. Robert M. McLane. 



3. 
4. 
5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 



1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

6, 

7. 
8. 
9. 



Eli J.Henkle. 
Milton G. Urner. 

Massachusetts — 1 1 . 

William W. Crape. 
Benjamin W. Harris. 
Walbridge A Field. 
Leopold Morse. 
S. Z. Bowman. 
George B. Loring. 
Wm. A. Russell. 
William Claflin. 
William W. Rice. 
Amasa Norcross. 
George D. Robinson. 

Michigan — 9. 

John S. Newberry. 
Edwin Willits. 
Jonas H. McGowan 
Julius C. Burrows. 
John W. Stone. 
Mark S. Brewer. 
Omar D. Conger. 
Roswell G. Horr. 
Jay A. Hubbell, 

Minnesota — 3. 

Mark H. Dunnell. 
Henry Poehler. 
William D. Washburn. 

Mississippi — 6 . 

Henry L. Muldrow. 
Van H. Manning. 
Hernando D. Money. 
Otho R. Singleton. 
Charles E. Hooker. 
James R. Chalmers. 

Missouri — 13. 

Martin L. Clardy. 
Erastus Wells. 
Richard G. Frost. 
Lowndes H. Davis. 
Richard P. Bland. 
James R. Waddill. 
John P. Phillips. 
Samuel L. Sawyer. 
Nicholas Ford. 
Gideon F. Rothwell. 



FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



99 



11. John B. Clarke Jr. 

12. William H. Hatch. 

13. Aylett H. Buckner. 

Nebraska — 1. 

1. Edward K. Valentine. 

Nevada — 1. 

1. Rollin M. Daggett. 
New Hampshire — 3. 

1. Joshua G. Hall. 

2. James F. Briggs. 

3. Evarts W. Farr. 

New Jersey — 7. 

1. George M. Robeson. 

2. Hezekiah B. Smith. 

3. Miles Ross. 

4. Alvah A. Clark. 

5. Cbarles H. Voorhis. 

6. John L. Blake. 

7. Lewis A. Brigham. 

New York— 33. 

1. James W. Covert. 

2. Daniel O'Reilly. 

3. Simeon B. Chittenden. 

4. Archibald M. Bliss. 

5. Nicholas Muller. 

6. Samuel S. Cox. 

7. Edwin Einstein. 

8. Anson G. McCook. 

9. Fernando Wood. 

10. James O'Brien. 

11. Levi P. Morton. 

12. Waldo liutchins. 

13. John H. Ketcham. 

14. John W. Ferdon. 

15. William Lounsberry. 

16. John M. Bailey. 

17. Walter A. Wood. 

18. John Hammond. 

19. Amaziah B. James. 

20. JohnH. Starin. 

21. David Wilbur. 

22. Warner Miller. 

23. Cyrus D. Prescott. 

24. Joseph Mason. 



25. Frank Hiscock. 

26. John H. Camp. 

27. Elbridge G. Lapham. 

28. Jeremiah W. Dwight. 

29. David P. Richardson. 

30. John Van Voorhis. 

31. Richard Crowley. 

32. Ray V. Pierce. 

33. Henry Van Aernam. 

North Carolina — 8. 

1. Joseph J Martin. 

2. W. H. Kitchen. 

3. Daniel L. Russell. 

4. Joseph J. Davis. 

5. Alfred M. Scales. 

6. Walter L. Steele. 

7. Robert F. Armfield. 

8. Robert B. Vance. 

Ohio— 20. 

1. Benjamin Butterworth. 

2. Thomas L. Young. 

3. John A. McMahon. 

4. J. Warren Keifer. 
Benjamin Lefevre. 
W. D. Hill. 
Frank Hurd. 
EbenezerB. Finley. 
George L. Converse. 
Thomas Ewing. 
Henry L. Dickey. 
Henry S. Neal. 
A. J. Warner. 
Gibson Atherton. 
George W. Geddes. 
William McKimley Jr. 
James Monroe. 
JohnT. Updegraff. 
James A. Garfield. 
Amos Townsend. 

Oregon — 1. 

1. John Whitaker. 

Pennsylvania — 27. 

1. Hcniy H. Binuham. 

2. Charles O'Neill. 

3. Samuel J. Randall. 



o. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 



100 



FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 



4. William D. Kelley. 

5. Alfred C. Harmer. 

6. William Ward. 

7. Wm. Godschalk. 

8. Hiester Clymer. 

9. A. Herr Smith. 

10. Reuben K. Bachman. 

11. Robert Klotz. 

12. Hendrick B. Wright. 

13. John W. Ryan. 

14. John W. Killinger. 

15. Edward Overton Jr. 

16. John J. Mitchell. 

17. A. H. Coffroth. 

18. Horatio G. Fisher. 

19. Frank E. Beltzhoover. 

20. Seth H. Tocum. 

21. Morgan R. Wise. 

22. Russell Errett. 

23. Thomas M. Bayne. 

24. William S. Shallenberger. 

25. Harry White. 

26. Samuel B. Dick. 

27. J. H. Osmer. 

Rhode Island — 2. 

1. Nelson W. Aldrich. 

2. Lattimer W. Ballou. 

South Carolina — 5. 

1. John S. Richardson. 

2. M. P. O'Connor. 

3. D. Wyatt Aiken. 

4. John H. Evins. 

5. G. D. Tillman. 

Tennessee — 10. 

1. R. L. Taylor. 

2. L. C. Houck. 

3. George C. Dibrell. 

4. Benton McMillan. 

5. John M. Bright. 

6. John F. House. 

7. Wash. C. Whitthorne. 

8. John D. C. Atkins. 

9. C. B. Simonton. 
10. H. Casey Young. 



1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 
5. 

6. 

7. 



Texas— 6. 

John H. Reagan. 
David B. Culberson. 
Olin Wellborn. 
Roger Q. Mills. 
George W. Jones. 
G. TTpson. 

Vermont— 3. 

Charles H. Joyce. 
James M. Tyler. 
Bradley Barlow. 

Virginia — 9. 

R. L. T. Beale. 
John Goode Jr. 
Joseph E. Johnston. 
Joseph Jorjiensen. 
George C. Cabell. 
J. Randolph Tucker 
John T. Harris. 
Eppa Hunton. 
James B. Richmond. 

West Virginia — 3. 

Benjamin Wilson. 
Benjamin F. Martin. 
John E. K« una. 

Wisconsin — 8. 

Charles G. Williams. 
Lucien B. Caswell. 
George C. Hazleton. 
Peter V. Deuster. 
Edward S. Bragg, 
(iabriel Bouk. 
Herman L. Humphrey. 
Thaddeus C. Pound. 



BTATE GOVERNMENTS. 



101 



GOVERNORS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 

1879. 



States. 


Capitals. 


Governors. 


Terms 
Expire. 

Nov 1881 


Sala- 
ries. 


Alabama 


Montgomery 


Rufus W. Cobb 


$3,000 


Arkansas 


Little Rock 


William R. Miller 


Jan 1883 


3,500 


California 


Sacramento 


William Invin 


Dec 1879 


7,000 


Connecticut 


Hartford 


Charles B. Andrews 


Jan 1881 


2,000 


Colorado 


Denver 


F. W. Pitkin 


Jan 1881 


3,000 


Delaware 


Dover 


John W. Hall 


Jan 1883 


2,000 


Florida 


Tallahassee 


George F, Brew 


Jan 1881 


3,500 


Georgia 


Atlanta 


Alfred H. Colquitt 


Jan 1881 


4,000 


Illinois 


Springfield 


Shelby W. Cullom 


Jan 1881 


5,000 


Indiana 


Indianapolis 


James D. Williams 


Jan 1881 


3,000 


Iowa 


Des Moines 


John H. Gear 


Jan 1882 


2,500 


Kansas 


Topeka 


John P. St. John 


Jan 1883 


3,000 


Kentucky 


Frankfort 


James B. Mc Creary 


Sept 1879 


5,000 


Louisiana 


New Orleans 


Francis T. Nichols. 


Jan 1881 


8,000 


Maine 


Augusta 


Alonzo Garcelon 


Jan 1880 


2,500 


Maryland 


Annapolis 


John Lee Carroll 


Jan 1880 


4,500 


Massachusetts 


Boston 


Thomas Talbot 


Jan 1880 


5,000 


Michigan 


Lansing 


Charles M. Croswell 


Jan 1881 


1,000 


Minnesota 


St. Paul 


John S. Pillsbury. 


Jan 1880 


3,000 


Mississippi 


Jackson 


John M. Stone 


Jan 1881 


3,000 


Missouri 


Jefferson City 


John S. Phelps 


Jan 1881 


5.0C0 


Nebraska 


Lincoln 


Albinus Nance 


Jan 1881 


1,000 


Nevada 


Carson City 


John H. Kinkead. 


Jan 1880 


6,000 


New Hampshire 


Concord 


Benjamin F. Prescott 


June 1879 


1,000 


New Jersey 


Trenton 


George B. Mc Clellan 


Jan 1881 


5,000 


New York 


Albany 


Lucius Robinson 


Jan 1880 


10,000 


North Carolina 


Raleigh 


Zebulon B. Vance * 


Jan 1881 


4,000 


Ohio 


Columbus 


Richard M. Bishop 


Jan 1880 


4,000 


Oregon 


Salem 


Wm. Wallace Thayer 


June 1882 


1,500 


Pennsylvania 


Harrisburg 


Henry M. Hoyt 


Jan 1883 


10,000 


Rhode Island 


Prov. & Npt. 


Charles C. VanZandt 


May 1879 


1,000 


South Carolina 


Columbia 


Wade Hampton * 


Jan 1881 


3,500 


Tennessee 


Nashville 


Albert L. Marks 


Jan 1831 


4,000 


Texas 


Austin 


Oram M. Roberts 


Jan 1883 


5,' 00 


"Vermont 


Montpelier 


Redfield Proctor 


Oct 1880 


1,000 


Virginia 


Richmond 


F. W. M. Holliday 


Jan 1882 


5,000 


West Virginia 


Wheeling 


Henry M. Matthews 


Mar 1881 


2,700 


Wisconsin 


Madison 


William E. Smith 


Jan 1880 


5,000 



Republicans ia Roman. Democrats in Italics. • Elected U. S. Senator. 



J02 



STATE GOVERNMENTS. 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 

(CONTINUED.) 



States 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts ... 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire. . 

New Jers' y 

New York .... 

North Carolina. .. 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina... 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

."Wisconsin 



Area, 
sq miles 



50,722 

52,198 

188,981 

4,750 

2,120 

59,248 

58,000 

55,410 

33,809 

55,045 

81,318 

37,680 

41,346 

35,000 

11,124 

7,800 

56,451 

83,531 

47,156 

65,350 

75,995 

81,531 

9,280 

8,320 

47,ax> 

50,704 
30,964 
95,274 
46,000 
1,306 
34,000 
45,600 
274,356 
10,212 
38,352 
23,000 
53,924 



Lioa. 137C 



996,992 

484,471 

560.247 

537.451 

125.015 

187,748 

1.184.109 

2,539.891 

1.6S0,637 

1,191,792 

364,399 

1,321,011 

726,915 

626,915 

780,894 

1.457,351 

1,184,059 

439,706 

827,922 

1,721,295 

122,993 

42,491 

318,300 

906,096 

4,382,758 

1.071,361 

2,665,260 

90,923 

3,521,791 

217,353 

705,606 

1,258,520 

818,579 

330,051 

1,225,163 

442,014 

1,054,670 



Legislatures 

J.. i_et 



3 M Nov 

1 M Jan 

1 MD.c 

*1 Tu Jan.... 
T al M Jan... 

*1 WJan 

*1 M Jan 

*1 WJan 

*2M Jan 

2Tu Jan 

*1 MDcc 

1 M Jan 

1 WJan 

*1 W J:n 

WJa.i 

*1 WJan 

TalM Jr. ... 
TalM Jr.n... 
•Last M Dec. 
*Th a 1 M Jan 
*1 M Jan 

1 MJunc 

2 Tu Jan 

1 Tu .Tan 

IThNov 

*1 M Jan 

2M Sopt 

1 Tu Jan 

May & Jan... 

3 W Oct 

*1 M Oct 

2Tu Jan 

*2Th Oct 

1 MDec 

2Tu Jan 

1 WJan 



State Elections 



Tu aft 1 M Nov 
1 Monday Nov 
1 Wed Sept 

1 Tuesday Aug 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
TuaftlMNov 

2 Tuesday Oct 
2 Tuesday Oct 
Tu aftl MNcv 
1 Monday Aug 

1 Monday Nov 

2 Monday Sept 
TuaftlMNov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
TuaftlMNov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
2 Tuesday Oct 
TuaftlMNov 
2 Tuesday Mar 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 

1 ThursdayAug 

2 Tuesday Oct 
2 Monday June 
2 Tuesday Oct 
1 Wed April 

4 Monday Nov 
1 Monday Aug 
1 Tuesday Nov 
1 Tuesday Sept 
Tu aft 1 5l Nov 
4 Thursday Oct 
Tu aft 1 M Nov 



*£iennial Sessions and Elections. 



RESULTS AT STATE ELECTIONS. 



MAINE.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 138,335, 
viz.: Daniel F. Davis, Rep. 68,766; Smith, Gr. 47,590; 
Garcelon, Dem. 21,668. Republican over Democrat, 47- 
098; over Greenback, 21,176. Democrat and Greenback 
over Republican, 492. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 44. 

NEW- HAMPSHIRE.— In 1878, total vote for Gov- 
ernor, 75,959, viz. : Natt Head, Rep. 38,175; Dem. 31. 
135 ; rest were scattering. Republican plurality, 7.040. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 72. 

VERMONT.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 57,957, 
viz. : Redfield Proctor, Rep. 37,312 ; Dem. 17,247 ; Green- 
back, 2.635. Republican plurality, 20.065. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 146. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— In 1879. total vote for Governor, 
243.534, viz : John D. Long, Rep. 122,751; Butler, 
Dem.-Gr. 109.149 ; Adams, Dem. 9 989 ; rest were scatter- 
ing. Republican plurality, 13,602. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 158. 

CONNECTICUT.— In 1878, total vote for Governor. 
104,645, viz. : Charles B. Andrews, Rep. 48,867 ; Hubbard, 
Dem, 46,385; Gr. 8,314; rest were scattering. Republi- 
can plurality, 2,482. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 88. 

RHODE ISLAND.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 
15,653, viz.: Charles C. Van Zandt, Rep. 9,717; Segar, 
Dem. 5,936. Republican majority, 3,871. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 57. 

103 



104 STATE ELECTIONS. 

NEW YORK.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 901,- 
535, viz.: AIodzo B. Cornell, Rep. 418,567; Robinson, 
Dem. 375,790 ; Kelly, Tarn. 77.566 ; Lewis, Gr. 20,286 ; 
rest were scattering. Republican plurality, 42,777. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 75. 

NEW JERSEY.— In 1877, total vote for Governor, 
1 89.427, viz. : George B. McClellan, Dem. 97,837 ; Newell, 
llep. 85,094 ; Hoxsey, Gr. 5,058. Dem. plurality, 12,743. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 13. 



PENNSYLVANIA.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 
702,144, viz.: Henry M. Ho\t, Rep. 319,490; Dill, Dem. 
297,137 ; Gr. 81,758. Republican plurality, 22,353. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 27. 

DELAWARE.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 13,- 
565, viz. : John W. Hall, Dem. 10,730 ; Stewart, Gr. 
2,835. Democratic majority. 7,895. 

Legislature, unanimously Democratic. 



MARYLAND.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 159,- 
380, viz.: William T. Hamilton, Dem. 90,771; Garey, 
Rep. 68,609. Democratic majority, 22,162. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 58. 

VIRGINIA.— In 1877, total vote for Governor, 106,329, 
viz.: Fred. W. M. Holliday, Dem. 101,940; scattering, 
4,389. Democratic majority, 97,551. 

Legislature, on Joint Ballot : Conservative Debtpayers, 56 ; 
Conservative Readjusters, 56 ; Repubicans, 26 ; doubtful, 2. 



WEST VIRGINIA.— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 
94.905. viz.: Dem. 50,318; Gr. 24,531; Rep. 20,056. 
Dem. plurality, 25.787. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 33. 



NORTH CAROLINA.— In 1878, total vote for Con- 
gress, 128,921, viz.: Dem. 68,263; Rep. 53,369; Ind. 
7,289. Democratic plurality, 14,894. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 56. 



STATE ELECTIONS. 105 

SOUTH CAROLINA.— In 1878, total vote for Con- 
gress, 161,998, viz. : Dem. 116,917; Rep. 45,081. Dem. 
majority, 71,836. 

Legislature almost entirely Democratic. 

GEORGIA.— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 125,282, 
viz. : Dem. 69,788 ; Opposition, 55,494. Dem. majority, 
14.294. 

Legislature largely Democratic in both branches. 



FLORIDA.— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 39,562, 
viz. : Dem. 21,169 ; Rep. 18,393. Dem. majority, 2,776. 
Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 52. 

ALABAMA. -In 1878, total vote for Congress, 87 794. 
viz : Dem. 54.775 ; Opp. 33.019 Dem. majority, 21,756. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 109. 

Election for State officers held Aug. 2,' 1880. No fuU 
returns yet received, but the Demoratic majority will 
range from 50,000 to 60.000. 

MISSISSIPPI— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 51.- 
583, viz.: Dem. 36,128; Rep., Ind. and Gr. 15,455. 
Dem. majority, 20,673. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 106. 



LOUISIANA. -In 1879, total vote for Governor, 115.- 
533, viz. : Louis A. Wiltz, Dem. 74,769 ; Beattie, Rep. 
40,764. Dem. majority, 34,005. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 81. 



TEXAS.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 237,337, 
viz : Abram M. Roberts, Dem. 158,933 ; Hamman, Gr 
55,002 ; Norton, Rep. 23,402. Dem. majority, 80,529. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 68. 



OHIO.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 668,610, viz. : 
Charles Foster, Rep. 336,261 ; Ewing, Dem. 319,132 ; 
Pratt, Gr. 9,072; Stewart, Pro. 4,145. Rep. plurality, 
17,129. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 30. 



106 STATE ELECTIONS. 

INDIANA.— In 1878, total vote for Secretary of State, 
414,842, viz. : Dein. 194,770; Rep. 180,657; Gr. 39,415. 
Dem. plurality, 14,113. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 10. 



ILLINOIS.— In 1878, total vote for State Treasurer, 
451,675, viz. : Rep. 206,458; Dem. 170,085; Gr. 65,689. 
Rep. plurality, 36,373. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 4. 



KENTUCKY.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 226,- 
635, viz. : Luke P. Blackburn, Dem. 125,799 ; Evans, 
Rep. 81,882 ; Cook, Gr. 18,954. Dem. plurality, 43,917. 

Legislature largely Democratic. 



TENNESSEE.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 146,- 
542, viz. : Albert S.Marks, Dem. 89,018; Rep. 42,328; 
Gr. 15,196. Dem. plurality, 46,690. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 52. 



MICHIGAN.— In 1879, total vote for Judge of Su- 
preme Court, 258,583, viz. : Rep. 132,313 ; Dem. and Gr. 
126,270. Rep. majority, 6,043. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 46. 



WISCONSIN.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 188,- 
948, viz. : William E. Smith, Rep. 100,535 ; Jenkins, Dem. 
75,030; May, Gr. 12,996. Rep. plurality, 25,505. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 57. 



IOWA.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 291,314. viz. : 
John H. Gear, Rep. 157,571; Trimble, Dem. 85,056; 
Campbell, Gr. 45.429. Rep. plurality, 72,515. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 94. 



MISSOURI.— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 320,077, 
viz. : Dem. 167,036 ; Gr. 85,261 ; Rep. 54,214 ; Ind. 13,566. 
Dem. plurality, 81.775. 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 97. 



STATE ELECTIONS. 107 

ARKANSAS.— In 1878, total vote for Congress, 51 619 
viz.: Dem. 32,652; Gr. 18,967. Dem. majority, 13^685! 
Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 96. 

CALIFORNIA.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 
160,213, viz. : Geo. C. Perkins, Rep. 67,965; Glenn, Dem. 
47,647; White, Work's 44,482. Rep. plurality, 20,318. 

Anti-Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 2. 

MINNESOTA.— In 1879, total vote for Governor, 105 - 
663, viz. : John S. Pilsbury, Rep. 56,918: Rice, Dem. 
41,583. Rep. majority, 15,335. 

Legislature largely Republican. 

OREGON.— In 1878, total vote for Secretary of State, 
33,882, viz.: Rep. 16,333; Dem. 16,042. Rep. majority, 

Democratic majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 12. 

KANSAS.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 138,285, 
viz. : John P. St. John, Rep. 74,020 ; Dem. 37,028. Rep 
majority, 36,812. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 93. 

NEVADA.— In 1878, total vote for Governor, 18,999, 
viz.: J. H. Kinkead, Rep. 9,811; Dem. 9,148. Rep! 
majority, 663. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 37. 

NEBRASKA.— In 1879, total vote for Judge of Su- 
preme Court, 71,665, viz.: Rep. 46,113; Dem. 20,827. 
Rep. majority, 25,286. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 48. 

COLORADO.— In 1879, total vote for Judge of Su- 
preme Court, 30,868, viz.: Rep. 16,920; Dem. 12,702. 
Rep. majority, 4,218. 

Republican majority on Joint Ballot in Legislature, 37. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1789-1797. 



TWO TERMS— EIGHT YEARS. 



ELECTED BY THE UNANIMOUS VOTE OE THE ELECTORS. 



108 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
George Washington, Virginia. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
John Adams, Massachusetts. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 
Thomas Jefferson, Virginia. 1789. 

Edmund Randolph, Virginia. 1794. 

Timothy Pickering, Massachusetts. 1795. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY : 
Alexander Hamilton, New York. 1789. 
Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut. 1795. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR AND NAVY : 
Henry Knox, Massachusetts. 1789. 

Timothy Pickering, Massachusetts. 1794. 
James McHenry, Maryland. 1796. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL : 
Samuel Osgood, Massachusetts. 1789. 
Timothy Pickering, Massachusetts. 1794. 
Joseph Habersham, Georgia. 1795. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 

Edmund Randolph, Virginia. 1789. 

William Bradford, Pennsylvania. 1794. 
Charles Lee, Virginia. 1795. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1790 
1791 
1792 
1793 
1794 
1795 
1796 


123,000,000 
29.200.000 
31.500,000 
31,000,000 
34,600,000 
69,756,268 
81,436,164 


$20,205,156 
19,012,041 
20,753,098 
26,109,572 
33,026,233 
47.989,472 
67,064,097 


f7.207.539 
9.141.569 
7.529.575 
9.302.124 

10,405,069 
8.367.776 


$75,463,476 
77,227.924 
80,352,634 
78,427,404 
80,747,587 
83,762,172 



109 



GEOBGE WASHINGTON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



The twenty-second day of February 1732, will ever be mem- 
orable, as the birthday of that great and good man who has 
been justly styled the " Father of his country." Descended 
from English ancestors, who emigrated to this country, and 
settled in Virginia as early as 1657, he was born in a plain 
farm-house upon the banks of the Potomac, in the County of 
Westmoreland, Va., on the day above mentioned. 




GEO ROE 



TON. 



His father, Augustine Washington, died in 1743, when George 
— who was his eldest son by his second wife, Mary Ball — was 
but ten years of age. He was blessed with a kind, affection- 
ate and intelligent mother, by whom he was instructed in 
Bound principles and correct habits. 

At the early age of fifteen, an opportunity was afforded him 

110 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. |j| 

of entering the British Navy as a midshipman, which position 
he strongly desired as a path to honorable distinction, but the 
evident reluctance of his mother to the separation induced 
him to abandon the project. 

He received a good English, but not a thorough literary or 
scientific education. Having a mind naturally philosophical 
and mathematical, his attention was given to surveying, and 
to the science of arms ; and of athletic exercises he was' pas- 
sionately fond. At the age of nineteen, he was appointed one 
of the Adjutant-Generals of Virginia with the rank of Major. 
In October 1753, he was commissioned by Governor Diu- 
widde of Virginia to convey important dispatches to the 
French on the Ohio, which hazardous undertaking, after suf- 
fering great hardships and escaping many dangers,' he accom- 
plished to the great satisfaction of the Governor. Subse- 
quently, in 1754, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
under Colonel Fry was sent with a regiment of troops against 
the French, and having received permission to march with two 
companies in advance, on the dark and rainy night of May 
24th, 1754, he surrounded and surprised a detachment of French 
troops, who were compelled to surrender. 

This was the commencement of his glorious military career 
the history of which is familiar to every American citizen.' 
After his return from the successful expedition against the 
French in 1758, and the close of the Campaign, he left the ar- 
my, and was married to a Mrs. Martha Custis, a widow lady 
of Virginia, who was highly esteemed for her amiable dis- 
position and womanly virtues. 

During the subsequent sixteen years, he devoted his time 
principally in the cultivation of his estate, and in the enjoy- 
ment of domestic life at Mount Vernon. In 1774, he repre- 
sented Virginia as a delegate in the Continental Congress, and 
on the 15th of June, 1775, was unanimously appointed Com- 
mander-in Chief of the American forces, which position he 
held till the close of the war. 

In May 1787, he was a delegate to the Convention which 
met at Philadelphia, and was appointed to preside over the 
same, and exerted his influence to cause the adoption of the 
Constitution. 



112 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Having been unanimously elected the first President of the 
United States, the inauguration ceremonies took place on the 
30th of April, 1789, in the City Hall in the city of New York. 
The first session of the first Congress, held at New York, occu- 
pied a period of six months, the adjournment taking place on 
the 29th of September 1789. In 1793, he was unanimously 
re-elected to the presidency for another term by the two 
great political parties, who united only on the name of Wash- 
ington. Having determined to retire from office, he issued in 
1796 his farewell address to the people of the United States, so 
full of love, and wisdom, and anxiety for the future welfare 
of his country , and in 1797, after witnessing the inauguration 
of his successor, he retired to Mount Vernon to spend the rest 
of his days in retirement. 

His administration was a wise and successful one ; all disputes 
with foreign nations had been adjuste 1, excepting those of 
France. Ample provision had been made f >r the security and 
ultimate payment of the public debt; public and private 
credit had been restored, and the affairs of the country were 
prosperous. 

On Thursday, the 12th of December, 1799, he was seized with 
an inflammation in his throat, and on the 14th of the same 
mouth, he died, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1797-1801. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED PV THE FEDERALISTS. 



8 113 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
John Adams, Massachusetts. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
Thomas Jefferson, Virginia. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 

Timothy Pickering, Massachusetts. 1797. 
John Marshall, Virginia. 1797. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY: 

Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut. 1797. 
Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts. 1800. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

James McHenry, Maryland. 1797. 

Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts. 1800. 
Roger Griswold, Connecticut. 1801. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 

George Cabot, Massachusetts. 1798. 
Benjamin Stoddert, Maryland. 1798. 

POST MASTER GENERAL: 
Joseph Habersham, Georgia. 1797. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL : 
Charles Lee, Virginia. 1797. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1797 
1798 
1799 
1800 


$75,379,406 
68.551,700 
79'089,148 
91,252,768 


$56,850,206 
61.527.097 
78.665,522 
70,970,780 


$8,626,012 

8,613,507 

11,077,043 

11,989,739 


$82,064,479 
79,228,529 
78,408,669 
82,976,291 



114 



JOHN ADAMS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



John Adams, the second President of the United States, 
was the fourth in descent from Henry Adams, who fled from 
persecution in England, and settled in Massachusetts in the 
year 1630. He was born on the 19th of Oetober, 1735, in the 
town of Braintree, Massachusetts, and in 1751, was admitted a 
member of Harvard College, graduating therefrom four 
years afterwards 

He soon after commenced the study of law at Worcester, 




JOHN ADAMS. 

Massachusetts, supporting himself chiefly by teaching in one 
of the public schools of that town. He was admitted to the 
bar of Suffolk County in 1758, and in 1766, he removed to 
Boston, where he soon distinguished himself in his profes- 
sion. 
In 1764, he married Abigail Smith, daughter of Rev. William 

115 



116 JOHN ADAMS. 

Smith, of Weymouth, an educated lady, possessing superior 
Intellectual faculties. 

Having filled many important offices, he was in 1777, appoint- 
ed a commissioner to the Court of France, and in 1779, was 
appointed a Minister Plenipotentiary for negotiating a treaty 
of peace with Great Britain. In 1781, he was associated with 
Franklin, Jay, and others in a commission for concluding 
treaties of peace with the several European powers. In 178-}, he 
was in Holland and France, negotiating commercial treaties 
with foreign nations. In 1785, he was appointed by Congress 
a Minister to represent the United States at the Court of Great 
Britain. 

He resigned in 1788, and in June returned to the United 
States, after an absence of over eight years. 

Ability, coupled with public honesty and private worth, con- 
stitute a man equal to any emergency, and fitted for any pub- 
lic position. Adams possessed this character, and these qual- 
ifications in an eminent degree. He was the man for the times ; 
no purer patriot ever lived ; he was the eloquent and fearless 
defender of the Declaration of Independence. He was a pa- 
triot and a scholar. 

He was elected to the Presidency as the successor of Wash- 
ington after a close and spirited contest, in which his warm 
personal friend, Thomas Jefferson, was his principle rival. 
Mr. Jefferson was supported by the Democratic, then called 
the Republican party, and Mr. Adams by the Federal party. 
Mr. Jefferson was elected Vice-President. 

His inauguration took place in Congress Hall, Philadelphia, 
on the 4th of March, 1797, he being then in his sixty-second 
year. He served his term of four years, was again nominated, 
but defeated. After his term of service had expired, he retired 
to his estate at Quincy, Massachusetts, and passed the re- 
mainder of his days in literary and scientific pursuits. Having 
lived to the good old age of ninety-one years, he died on the 
4th of July 1826. 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 

WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1801-1809. 



TWO TERMS-EIGHT YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE REPUBLICAN OR ANTI FEDERAL PARTY. 



117 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT: 
Thomas Jefferson, Virginia. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 
Aaron Burr, New York. 1801. 

George Clinton, New York. 1805. 

SECRETARY OF STATE: 
James Madison, Virginia. 1801. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY : 

Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts. 1801. 
Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania. 1802. 

SECRETARY OF WAR : 
Henry Dearborn, Massachusetts. 1801. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
Benjamin Stoddert, Maryland. 1801. 
Robert Smith, Maryland. 1802. 

Jacob Crowninshield, Mass. 1805. 

POST MASTERS-GENERAL : 
Joseph Habersham, Georgia. 1801. 

Gideon Granger, Connecticut. 1802. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 
Theophilus Parsons, Massachusettsl 801. 
Levi Lincoln, Massachusetts. 1801. 

Robert Smith, Maryland. 1805. 

John Breckenridge, Kentucky. 1805. 
CAESAR A. Rodney, Delaware. 1807. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1801 


$111,363,511 


f94.115.925 


$12,273,376 


$83,038,050 


1802 


76,333,333 


72,483,160 


13,276,084 


80,712,632 


1803 


64,666,666 


55,800,038 


11,258,983 


77,054,686 


1804 


185,000,000 


77,699,074 


12,624,646 


86,427.120 


1805 


120,600,000 


95,566,021 


13,727,124 


82,312,150 


1808 


129,410,000 


101,536,963 


15,070,093 


75,723,270 


1807 


138,500.000 


108,343,151 


11,292,292 


69,218,398 


1808 


56,990.000 


22,430,960 


16,764.584 


65,196,317 



118 



THOMAS JEFFEKSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Perhaps the most distinguished statesman this country has 
ever produced, was Thomas Jefferson, the third President of 
the United States. His ancestors were also early emigrants 
from Great Britain, who settled in Virginia. His father, Peter 
Jefferson, was a man of some distinction in the colony. 

Thomas Jefferson was born on the 2nd of April, 1743, at 
Shadwell, in Albemarle County, Virginia. His father dying 
when he was twelve years of age, left him a large inheritance. 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

He was educated at the College of William and Mary, studied 
law under the celebrated George Wythe, and commenced its 
practice in 1767. 

He was early identified with the champions of liberty, and in 
1775, took his seat in the Continental Congress. Previous to 
this, he had made an effort in the Legislature of which he wa# 

119 



120 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

a member, for the emancipation of the slaves in Virginia, but 
was unsuccessful. In 1772, he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, 
a widow lady, daughter of Mr. John Wyles, an eminent law- 
yer of Virginia. 

Although one of the youngest members of the Continental 
Congress, he was selected by a committee duly appointed, and 
requested to prepare the Declaration of Independence. This he 
'Aid, and it was finally adopted with but few alterations and 
amendments on the 4th of July, 1776. In 1779, he was elected 
Governor of Virginia, which office he held for two years. He 
was the author of many tracts, and other writings, and as a 
man of letters acquired high distinction. 

In 1785, he was joined with Adams and Franklin in a com- 
mission for negotiating treaties of commerce with foreign 
nations, and he met them in Paris, in June of that year, and it 
was through him, as Mr. "Webster has confessed, that our 
diplomatic intercourse was raised to a dignity and strength, 
which will bear comparison with any that other governments 
can produce. 

Having been elected President his inauguration took place 
in the new Capitol at Washington, on the 4th of March, 1801 
in the 58th year of his age. He was elected by the Anti-Fed- 
eral or Democratic party, and many important acts were passed 
and many important events took place during his administra- 
tion which was continued for eight years (he having been 
re-elected in 1805). He almost doubled the territory of the 
Union ; caused the vast regions of the West to be explored ; 
gave us character abroad, and tranquility at home. 

Having retired from the presidency, he passed the remain- 
der of his days in the cultivation of his beautiful estate at 
Monticello ; in pleasant intercourse with his friends ; in literary 
pursuits, and in advancing his favorite project of a University 
of Virginia. His pecuniary circumstances becoming embar- 
rassed in his old age, he was compelled to dispose of his 
library, which was purchased by Congress for $23,950. He 
died, after a short illness, on the 4th of July, 1826, being the 
fiftieth aniversary of our independence ; the same day that his 
friend and compatriot John Adams departed this life. 



MADISON'S ADMinSTKATIOtf, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1809-1817. 



TWO TERMS— EIGHT YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE REPUBLICANS [ANTI-FEDERALISTS.] 



121 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT: 

James Madison, Virginia. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

George Clinton, New York. 
Elbridge Gerry, Massachusetts. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 
Robert Smith, Maryland. 1809. 

James Monroe, Virginia. 1811. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY. 
Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania. 1809. 
George W. Campbell, Tennessee. 1811. 
Alexander J. Dallas, Penn. 1814. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

William Eustis, Massachusetts. 1809. 

John Armstrong, New York. 181o. 

James Monroe, Virginia. 1814. 

William H. Crawford, Georgia. 1815. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
Paul Hamilton, South Carolina. 1809. 
William Jones, Pennsylvania. 1813. 

Benjamin W. Crowin shield, Mass. 1814. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. 
Gideon Granger, Connecticut. 1809. 
Return J. Meigs, Jr., Ohio. 1814. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. 

Caesar A. Rodney, Delaware. 1809. 

William Pinckney, Maryland. 1811. 

Richard Rush, Pennsylvania. 1814. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1809 


$59,400,000 


$52,203,333 


$13,867,226 


$57,023,192 


1810 


85.406.000 


66,657,970 


13,319,986 


53,178,217 


1811 


53,400,000 


61,316.883 


13,601,808 


48,005,587 


1812 


77,030,000 


38,527,236 


22,279,121 


45,209,737 


1813 


22,005,000 


27,855,927 


39,190.520 


55,962,827 


1814 


12,965,000 


6,927,441 


38,028,2:30 


81,487.846 


1815 


113,041,274 


52,557,753 


39,582,493 


99,833,660 


1816 


147,103,000 


81,920,452 


48,244,495 


127,334,938 



122 



JAMES MADISON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



The fourth President of the United States, was James Madi 
son, who was born in Orange County, Virginia, on the 16th of 
March, 1751. He was of Welsh descent, and his father James 
Madison, was among the early emigrants to Virginia. 

He received a liberal education, and graduated at Princeton 
College, in 1771. He commenced the practice of law, but was 
called in early life, to attend to the public affairs of his State, 
and Country. In 1779 he was chosen a delegate to the conti- 




JAMES MADISON. 

nental Congress, and continued as such, until 1784. He was a 
delegate to the Convention, held at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, 
to frame the Constitution, and was one of its most distin- 
guished members. He was also elected to the new Congress 
held at New York, in 1789. 

123 



124 JAMES MADISON. 

In the year 1794, being then in his forty-third year, he mar- 
ried Mrs. Dolly Paine Todd, of Philadelphia, a widow lady 
much admired, and who was twenty-three years younger than 
Mr. Madison. 

In his political views, Mr. Madison was a Democrat (then 
called Republican) and co-operated with Jefferson in his views 
of national policy. He was Secretary of State during Jeffer- 
son's administration, and in 1809, having received thenomina 
tion and support of the Democratic, or Anti Federal party, he 
succeeded Mr. Jefferson as President. The war of 1812, was 
declared during his administration against Great Britain, and 
the same year he was re-elected to the presidency. It was 
also during his administration, that the city of Washington 
was captured by the British, and the public buildings destroyed. 
Peace was also concluded at Ghent in 1814, which he sincerely 
desired. 

He retired in 1817, to his residence at Montpelier, in Orange 
County, Virginia, being then sixty-six years of age. Subse- 
quently, he was chosen a member of the State Convention, 
to revise the Constitution of his State, and for several years 
acted as Rector of the University of Virginia. At the age of 
eighty-five the earthly career of Mr. Madison was closed. He 
died respected and beloved, on the 28th of June, 1836. 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION, 

WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1817-1825. 



TWO TERMS— EIGHT YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE REPUBLICANS [ANTI-FEDERALISTS.] 



rj5 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT: 
James Monroe, Virginia. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
Daniel D. Tompkins, New York. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
John Quincy Adams, Massachusetts. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 
William H. Crawford, Georgia. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

Isaac Shelby, Kentucky. 1817. 

John C. Calhoun, South Carolina. 1817. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
Benjamin W CROWNiNSHiELD,Mass.l818. 
Smith Thompson, New York. 1818. 

Samuel L. Southard, New Jersey. 1823. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. 

Return J. Meigs, Jr., Ohio. 1817. 

John McLean, Ohio. 1823. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
William Wirt, Virginia. 

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1817 


$99,250,000 


$ 87,671 ,560 


$40,877,646 


$123,491,965 


1818 


121,750,000 


93,281,133 


35,164,875 


103,466,633 


1819 


87,125,000 


70,141.501 


24,004,199 


95,529,648 


1820 


74,450,000 


69,661,669 


21,763,024 


91,015,566 


1821 


62,585,724 


64,974,382 


19,090,572 


89,987,427 


1822 


83,241,541 


72,160.281 


17,676,592 


93,546,676 


1823 


77.579,267 


74,699,030 


15,314,171 


90,875,877 


1824 


89,549,007 


75,986,657 


31,898,538 


90,269,777 



126 



JAMES MONROE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, 
was born on the 2d of April, 1759, in the county of West- 
moreland, Virginia. 

His parents, Spencer Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, descended 
from the first families of that State. He entered the college 
of William and Mary, but left his collegiate studies before he 
had graduated, for the purpose of joining the Standard of his 
Country, which he did in his eighteenth year, and hastened to 




JAMES MONROE. 

join Washington at his head-quarters, in the city of New 
York. 

He was in many conflicts in the campaign of 1776, and was 
severely wounded in the battle of Trenton. During the cam- 
paigns of 1777, and 1778, he acted as aid to Lord Stirling, and 
distinguished himself in many battles, displaying great cour- 
age and coolness on the bloody fields of Brandywine, German- 

127 



128 JAMES MONROE. 

town, and Monmouth. He subsequently studied law under 
Mr. Jefferson, while the latter was Governor of Virginia. In 
his twenty-fourth year, he was elected to the Legislature of 
his State, and in the following year, was elected a delegate to 
the Continental Congress, and thereafter represented his State 
in Congress, until 1876. 

While in New York attending the Continental Congress, 
he married Miss Kortright, a beautiful and accomplished lady, 
daughter of Mr. L. Kortright of that city. Mr. Madison 
was opposed to the adoption of the Federal Constitution as 
framed by the Convention of 1787, and strongly urged that 
certain amendments should be made previous to its adoption. 

In 1790, he was chosen, and took his place in the Senate of 
the United States, and continued therein for four years, acting 
with the Anti-Federal party in opposition to Washington's 
administration, notwithstanding which, Gen. Washington 
appointed him Minister to France in 1794, and subsequently, 
succeeded Mr. King as Minister to England. 

In 1799, Mr. Monroe was elected Governor of Virginia, which 
office he filled for three years. Under the administrations 
both of Jefferson and Madison, he was appointed to many 
offices, and superintended many of the important matters and 
negotiations of the Government, thereby rendering essential, 
and invaluable services. 

In 1816, Mr. Monroe was nominated for the Presidency by 
the Anti-Federal or Democratic party, and was elected to suc- 
ceed Mr. Madison. His administration was exceedingly pop- 
ular, and in 1820, he was almost unanimously re-elected,having 
received — excepting one— every vote of the Electoral Col- 
leges. His first inauguration took place on the 4th of March, 
1817, and his second, on Monday, the fifth of March, 1831. He 
died at the residence of his son-in-law, Samuel L. Gouveneur 
in the city of New York, on July 4th, 1831, being the fifty-fifth 
anniversary of our national independence. 



J. Q. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1825-1829. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 



129 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT: 
John Qutncy Adams, Massachusetts. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
John C. Calhoun, South Carolina. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
Henry Clay, Kentucky. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: 
Richard Rush, Pennsylvania. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

James Barbour, Virginia. 1825. 

Peter B. Porter, New York. 1828. 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY : 
Samuel L. Southard, New Jersey. 

POST MASTER-GENERAL: 
John McLean, Ohio. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL : 
William Wirt, Virginia, 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 


$96,340,075 
84,974,477 
79,484,068 
88,509,824 


$99,535,383 
77,5D5,322 
82,324,727 
72,264,686 


$23,585,804 
24.103,398 
22,656,764 
25,459,479 


$83,788,432 
81,054,059 
73.987.357 
67,475,043 



130 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



The sixth President of the United States, was John Quincy 
Adams. He was the son of John Adams, the second Presi- 
dent, and was born in his father's mansion, in the city of Bos- 
ton, although the family seat was in the present town of 
Quincy, Massachusetts, on the 11th day of July 1767. 

At the age of eleven years, he embarked for France with his 
father and remained there several months. He subsequently 
visited Holland, and in 1781, went with Mr. Dana (who had 




JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

been appointed minister) to Russia as his private secretary 
and remained there eighteen months. From 1783, to 1785, he 
was with his father in England, Holland, and France. He 
returned to the United States in 1785, entered Harvard Col- 
lege, and graduated in 1787. He then commenced the study 
of law at Newburyport under Mr. Theophilus Parsons, and 
after completing his studies, commenced the practice of his 

131 



132 JOHN QLINCY ADAMS. 

profession in Boston, devoting his leisure time in writing and 
publishing a series of tracts, and other papers, on the great 
political questions of the day. 

In 1794, General Washington appointed him Minister Resi- 
dent to the Netherlands, where he remained for two years. He 
was afterwards appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Portu- 
gal, but on his way there, received an appointment transfer- 
ring him to Lisbon, where he remained till 1801. 

Mr. Adams was a moderate Federalist, and in 1803, was 
elected a Senator of the United States but not by a party vote. 
He supported Mr. Jefferson in such measures as -his judg- 
ment approved. He was appointed one of the commissioners, 
by whom the treaty of peace was negotiated, between Great 
Britain and the United States at Ghent, in 1814. In 1815, he 
was appointed by Mr. Madison, Minister to Great Britain, 
where he remained about two years, he was then recalled by 
Mr. Monroe, and appointed by him, Secretary of State, which 
office he filled for eight years. 

The canditates put in nomination to succeed Mr. Monroe, 
were General Jackson, Henry Clay, William H. Crawford and 
Mr. Adams. No choice was effected by the Electoral Col- 
leges, by reason of there being so many in nomination, but 
General Jackson received the greatest number of votes. The 
election was thereupon referred to the House of Representa- 
tives, and on the first ballot, Mr. Adams received the vote of 
thirteen States and was elected. His inauguration took place 
on the 4th of March, 1825. John C. Calhoun was made Vice- 
President. 

In May 1797, Mr. Adams was married to Louisa Catherine 
Johnson, daughter of Joshua Johnson of Maryland, who then 
resided in London. By this lady, he had four children, of 
whom, only one, Mr. Charles F c Adams of Boston, is now liv- 
ing. 

On the twenty-second of Februry, 1848, this most accom- 
plished scholar and statesman was prostrated by paralysis, 
while in his seat in the House of Representatives, and breathed 
his last on the following day. He died in the Speaker's room, 
in the Capitol, being in his eighty-first year. His dying words 
were " This is the last of earth." 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1829-1837. 



TWO TERMS— EIGHT YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



133 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 

Andrew Jackson, Tennessee. 

VICE PRESIDENTS: 

John C. Calhoun, South Carolina. 
Martin Van Buren, New York. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 
Martin Van Buren, New York. 1829. 
Edward Livingston, Louisiana. 1831. 
Lewis McLane, Delaware. 1833. 

John Forsyth, Georgia. 1834. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY: 
Samuel D. Ingham, Pennsylvania. 1829. 
Louis McLane, Delaware. 1831. 

William J. Duane, Pennsylvania. 1833. 
Roger B. Taney, Maryland. 1833. 

Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire. 1834. 
SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

John H. Eaton, Tennessee. 1829. 

Lewis Cass, Ohio. 1831. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
John Branch, North Carolina. 1829. 
Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire. 1831. 
Mahlon Dickerson, New Jersey. 1834. 

POST MASTERS-GENERAL : 
William T. Barry, Kentucky. 1829. 
Amos Kendall, Kentucky. 1835. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 
John M. Berrien, Georgia. 1829. 

Roger B- Taney, Maryland. 1831. 

Benjamin F. Butler, New York. 1834. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1829 


174,492,527 


$72,358,671 


$25,044,358 


$58,421,413 


1830 


70,876,920 


73,849,508 


24.585.281 


48,565,406 


1831 


103,191,124 


81,310,583 


30.038,446 


39,124,191 


1832 


101,029,266 


87,176,943 


34,356.698 


24,322,235 


1833 


108,118,311 


90,140,443 


24,257.298 


7.001,032 


1834 


126,521,332 


104,336,973 


24,601,982 


4,760,081 


1835 


149,895.742 


121,693,577 


27,573,141 


3,351,289 


1836 


189,980,085 


128,663,040 


30,934,664 


3,291,089 



134 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United 
States, was of Scottish descent. His grandfather, Hugh Jack- 
son, removed to Ireland, where his sons became respectable 
farmers. In 1765, his 3'oungest son emigrated to North Amer- 
ica, and settled in South Carolina, where he purchased a plan- 
tation at Waxhaw Settlement. On this plantation, Andrew 
Jackson was born on the 15th of March, 1767. 

His father died about the time of his birth, leaving his 




ANDREW JACKSON. 

mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Hutchinson, a 
widow with three sons. 

In the spring of 1779, South Carolina was invaded by the 
English, and his brother, Hugh Jackson, who had enlisted 
with others to repel them, lost his life in the fatigues of the 
service. At the age of thirteen, Andrew, with his brother 

135 



136 ANDREW JACKSON. 

Robert, joined a company of volunteers and were engaged in 
a battle at a place called Hanging Rock, where the volunteers 
particularly distinguished themselves. Both of the yonng 
men were soon after taken prisoners, and as such, upon one 
occasion Andrew was ordered by a British officer to clean his 
boots, which he indignantly refused to do, whereupon, he was 
struck by the officer with his sword, causing a deep wound, 
the scar of which he carried with him to his grave. 

His brother Robert, for refusing to perform like menial ser- 
vice, was treated in the same manner, and received a wound 
from which he never recovered. They were both finally 
exchanged, and Robert died two days after his arrival home. 
His mother going on board of a prison ship to nurse some sick, 
captive friends, took a fever from which she died soon after, 
leaving Andrew, then a young man, the sole survivor of the 
family. 

When eighteen years of age, he commenced the study of 
law at Salisbury, North Carolina, and in due time was admit- 
ted to the bar, and commenced the practice of law in that 
State, but being appointed by the Governor, Solicitor for the 
Western District, which embraced Tennessee, he removed to 
Jonesborough in 1788, being then only twenty-one years of 
age. In this new and half -civilized region, he endured hard- 
ships and encountered dangers of every kind. His sensitive 
nature, strong passions, iron will, with his fearless and deter- 
mined spirit, led him into many difficulties and personal quar- 
rels, all of which he met manfully, ever ready to fight an 
enemy, or chastise an offender. His motto was, "Ask noth- 
ing but what is right ; submit to nothing wrong." 

On the admission of Tennessee into the Union, Jackson was 
chosen the first Representative to Congress, and took his seat 
in the House, on the 5th of December, 1796. His term there 
however, was short, for being elected by the Legislature, he 
took his seat in the Senate of the United States, on the 22nd 
of November, 1797. 

In his views he was a democrat, and acted with the Demo- 
cratic party. After resigning his seat as a Senator, he was 
appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, which 



ANDREW JACKSON. 137 

office he held for six years and then resigned. In 1802, he was 
appointed Major General of the militia of the State. During 
the war of 1812, he took an active part in the campaigns against 
the Indians and British, in the capacity of Major General, and 
on the 23rd of December, 1814, obtained a great victory over 
them at New Orleans, aud was hailed by the people of the 
South- West as their deliverer. 

In 1828, he was nominated for the Presidency, by the Dem- 
ocratic party, the opposing candidate being John Quincy 
Adams. It was a most exciting campaign, but Jackson was 
elected, and again re-elected in 1832. His first inauguration 
took place on the 4th of March, 1829; his second, on the 4th 
Of March, 1833. During his administration, many grave and 
important questions were agitated, which caused great excite- 
ment throughout fhe country ; among these were those relat- 
ing to the Tariff, U. S. Bank, Public Lands, nullification, 
Internal Improvement, etc., etc. 

On the 3rd of March, 1837, he publishedhis farewell address 
full of patriotism, good advice, and love of country. He 
then retired to the Hermitage in Tennessee, where he passed 
the remainder of his days, breathing his last on the 8th of 
June, 1845. 



VAN BUREFS ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1837-184:1. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



139 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
Martin Van Buren, New York. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
Richard M. Johnson, Kentucky. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
John Forsyth, Georgia. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: 
Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire. 

SECRETARY OF WAR : 
Joel R. Poinsett, South Carolina. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
Mahlon Dickerson, New Jersey. 1837. 
James K. Paulding, New York. 1841. 

POST MASTERS-GENERAL : 

Amos Kendall, Kentucky. 1837. 

John M. Niles, Connecticut. 1840. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL . 

Benjamin F. Butler, New York. 1837. 

Felix Grundy, Tennessee. 1838. 

Henry D. Gilpin, Pennsylvania. 1840. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 


$140,989,217 
113,717,404 
162,092,132 
107,641,519 


$117,419,376 
108.486.616 
121 ,088,416 
132,085,936 


$37,265,037 
39,455,438 
37,614,936 
28,226,553 


$1,878,223 
4,857 600 

11,983,737 
5,125,077 



140 



MARTIN VAN BUKEN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



The ancestors of Martin Van Buren, the eighth President ol 
the United States, were among the early emigrants from Hol- 
land to the colony of New Netherlands, now the State of New 
York. His father, Abraham Van Buren, was a farmer in mod 
crate circumstances. Martin, was born at Kinderhook, De- 
cember 5th, 1783. 




MARTIN VAN BUREN. 

At the age of fourteen, he commenced the study of law 
in the office of Francis Sylvester, and completed his studies in 
the office of William P. Van Ness of New York city. He 
possessed an active, observing mind, attended all the meetings 
of the Democratic party, and gave much attention to the 
political subjects of the day. 

In the twenty-first year of his age, he was admitted to the 
bar, as an Attorney at Law, and commenced its practice in his 

141 



142 MARTIN VAN BUEEN. 

native village. He soon became one of the most distinguished 
members of his profession. In 1808, he was appointed Surro- 
gate of Columbia County ; in 1815, he was appointed Attorney. 
General of the State ; in 1821, he was elected a Senator of the 
Uuited States, by the Legislature of New York, and in 1828, 
was elected Governor of that State. 

President Jackson having appointed him Secretary of 
State of the United States, he resigned his office as Governor 
on the 12th of March, 1829. Having retired from this office in 
June, 1831, he was appointed by the President, Minister to 
Great Britain, and arrived in London in September of that year. 
In May, 1832, he was nominated by the Democratic party as 
Vice-President, and was elected to that office. He was nomi- 
nated as the successor of General Jackson by the same party, 
and received 170 votes of the Electoral College, against 124 
for all other candidates. His inauguration took place the 4th 
of March, 1837. 

At this time, the business of the Country was on the verge 
of prostration and ruin. Previous to this, their having been 
large facilities for obtaining bank loans, importation of for- 
eign goods had immensely increased, and the spirit of specu- 
lation, especially in real estate, had assumed in 1836, the fea- 
tures of a mania. The money thus nsed in speculation, had 
been obtained from the Deposit Banks of the United State* 
funds, but in 1836, Congress had authorized the Se< - 
retary of the Treasury, to distribute all the public funds, 
excepting $5,000,000, among the several States. This money 
after January, 1837, was accordingly taken from the Deposit 
Banks, thus compelling them to curtail their loans, which 
resulted in a serious pecuniary embarrassment. 

Over trading, and speculation were therefore suddenly 
checked, and in the spring of 1837, heavy, and innumerable, 
mercantile failures took place in all our cities, and many banks 
suspended specie payment. The President recommended to 
Congress the measure known as the/S^& treasury scheme, which 
subsequently passed. Mr. Van Buren was renominated for 
the Presidency but received only 60 votes of the Electoral Col- 
lege, against 234 for Harrison. He died on the 24th of July, 
1862. 



HARRISON'S AND TYLER'S 
ADMINISTRATIONS, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
1841-1845. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE WHIGS. 

President Harrison died April 4, 184 L. 



143 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENTS: 
Willlam Henry Harrison, Ohio. 1841. 
John Tyler, Virginia. 1841. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 

John Tyler, Virginia. 1841 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 

Daniel Webster, Massachusetts. 1841. 

Hugh S. Legare, South Carolina. 1843. 

Abel P. Upshur, Virginia. 1843. 

John Nelson, Maryland. 1844. 
John C. Calhoun, South Carolina. 1845. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY. 
Thomas Ewing, Ohio. 1841. 

Walter Forward, Pennsylvania. 1S41. 
John C. Spencer, New York. 1843. 

George M. Bibb, Kentucky. 1844. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

John Bell, Tennessee. 1841. 

John C. Spencer, New York, 1841. 

James M. Porter, Pennsylvania. 1843. 

William Wilkins, Pennsylvania. 1844. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
George E. Badger, N. Carolina. 1841. 
Abel P.Upshur, Virginia. 1841. 

David Henshaw, Massachusetts, 1843. 
Thomas W. Gilmer, Virginia. 1844. 

John Y. Mason, Virginia. 1844. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. 

Francis Granger, New York. 1841. 
Charles A. Wickliffe, Kentucky. 1841. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. 
John J. Crittenden, Kentucky. 1841. 
Hugh S. Legare, South Carolina. 1841. 
John Nelson, Maryland. 1844. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 


$127,946,117 

100,152,087 

64,753,799 

108,435,035 


$121,851,803 
104,691,531 
84,346,480 
111,200,046 


$31,787,530 
32,936,876 
12,118,105 
33,642,010 


$6,737,398 
15,028,486 
27,203,450 
24,748,188 



144 



WILLIAM H. HARRISON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United 
States, was the youngest son of Benjamin Harrison, one of 
the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and one of 
the Governors of Virginia. William Henry, was horn on the 
ninth of February, 1773, at Berkeley on the James River, Vir- 
ginia. 

He was educated at Hampden, Sydney College, Va., and 
applied himself to the study of medicine as a profession, but 




WILLIAM H. HARRISON. 

before its completion, he gave up his studies, and joined the 
army raised for the defence of the Ohio frontier against the 
Indians. He received his commission of Ensign in a regiment 
of artillery, from Gen. Washington, in 1791, and in 1793, was 
promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. 
He soon after joined the new army under the command of 
10 145 



146 WILLIAM H. HARRISON 

General Anthony Wayne at Pittsburgh, and remained with him 
some years, engaged in many battles with the Indians, at, and 
about Fort Washington, where Cincinnati now stands. After 
lie campaign, which resulted in a treaty of peace with the 
Indians, he was promoted to the rank of Captain, and soon 
after, at the age of twenty-one, he married the daughter of 
John Cleves Symmes, the founder of the Miami Settlements. 

In 1797, he was appointed by President Adams, Secretary, 
and ExOfficio, Lieutenant-Governor of the North Western Ter- 
ritory. In 1799, he was elected by the legislature of tb at territory, 
their first delegate to Congress at the age of twenty-six. Subse- 
quently, the new territory of Indiana was established, which 
included what are now the States of Indiana, Illinois, Michi- 
gan, and Wisconsin, over which he was appointed Governor, 
and also Superintendent of Indian affairs, and Commander-in- 
chief of the militia. 

He held the office of Governor for a period of thirteen 
years, having been successively appointed by Adams, Jef- 
fcrson, and Madison, at the earnest solicitation of the people 
of the territory. He concluded many treaties with the Indians, 
a id at one time obtn ined from them the cession of over 50,000,000 
of acres, lying between the river Illinois and the Mississippi. 

In 1811, he fought the memorable and desperate battle of 
Tippecanoe, and was very active in the war of 1812. In 1816, 
he was elected to represent the Congressional District of Ohio, 
in the House of Representatives of the United States, and sub- 
sequently held many other offices. In 1839, he was nominated 
for the Presidency, by the National Convention of Whig dele- 
gates, who had assembled at Harrisburgh, and was elected 
by an overwhelming majority. He received 234 Electoral 
votes against 60 for Mr. Van Buren. 

The inauguration of General Harrison took place on the 4th 
of March, 1841, but his administration, however, was very 
brief. On the 27th of March, he was seized with a severe 
illness, which terminated bis life on Sunday morning the 4th 
of April, just one month after his inauguration, in the sixty- 
eight year of his age. 



JOHN TYLER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States, was 
born in Charles City County, Virginia, on the 29th of March, 
1790. His ancestors were among the early English settlers 
<>f the Old Dominion. His father was one of the patriots of 
the Revolution, and devoted himself to its success. 

At a very early age, Young Tyler was very much attached 
to his studies, and was so precocious, that he entered William 
and Mary College at the age of twelve years, and graduated 




JOHN TYLER. 

when he was but seventeen. He commenced the study of 
law, and at nineteen years of age, was admitted to the bar, 
no objection having been raised as to his age. 

In 1811, he was elected a member of the House of Dele- 
gates, and took his seat in the Virginia Legislature, where he 
remained several years, and until 1816, when he was elected 
to Congress, then being but twenty-six years of age, and was 

147 



148 JOHN TYLER. 

twice re-elected, but by reason of ill health, was finally obliged 
to resign, and returned to the practice of his profession. 

Mr Tyler was elected Governor of Virginia, in December, 
1825, and during his administration, he urged forward, and 
greatly encouraged internal improvements, and many of the 
liuest works in the State, were commenced, and completed, 
through his instrumentality. He was subsequently re-elected 
Governor, but before his term of office had expired, he was 
elected a Senator, having defeated John Randolph. 

On the accession of Gen'l Jackson to the Presidency, Mr. 
Tyler supported his administration in many particulars, but 
yet, at times, took an independent course. With the nullifiers 
of South Carolina, he also sympathised ; and when the President 
took his position against the anti-tariff and nullifying pro- 
ceedings of that State, he withdrew his support from the Ad- 
ministration, acting with Mr. Calhoun, and contending for 
State Rights. 

In 1839, he was elected one of the delegates from Virginia, to 
the Whig National Convention, at Harrisburg, and exerted 
his influence in favor of the nomination of Henry Clay, who 
was defeated by General Harrison, the nominee. It was 
deemed necessary by the Convention, after the nomination of 
Harrison, that the candidate for the Vice-President should be 
a Southern man, and without much reflection, it was offered 
to Mr. Tyler, who accepted. 

On the 6th of April, 1841, after the death of General Har- 
rison, Mr. Tyler took, and subscribed an oath of office, and 
then issued an inaugural address, to the people of the United 
States. He took such a course, however, that he lost the 
confidence of the party who nominated him, without gaining 
that of his political opponents, and in the late great rebellion, 
he took part with the enemies of the Republic. 

In 1813, at the age of twenty-three, Mr. Tyler married Miss 
Letitia Christian, a lady much esteemed, and a member of 
the Episcopal Church. She died at Washington, in 1842. 
While President of the United States, he was again married to 
Miss Julia Gardiner, daughter of David Gardiner of New 
York. He died in Richmond, Virginia, on the 18th of Janu- 
ary, 1862. 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
184,5-184,9. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



149 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
James K. Polk, Tennessee. 

VICE PRESIDENT: 
George M. Dallas, Pennsylvania. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
James Buchanan, Pennsylvania. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY : 
Robert J. Walker, Mississippi. 

SECRETARY OF WAR : 
William L. Marct, New York. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
George Bancroft, Massachusetts. 1845. 
John Y. Mason, Virginia. 1846. 

POST MASTER-GENERAL : 
Cave Johnson, Tennessee. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 

John Y. Mason, Virginia. 1845. 

Nathan Clifford, Maine. 1846. 

Isaac Toucet, Connecticut. 1848. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 


$117,254,564 
121,691,797 
146,545,638 

154,998,928 


$114,646,606 
113,488,516 
158,648,622 
154,032,131 


$30,490,408 
27,632,282 
60,520,851 
60,655,143 


$17,093,791 
16.750,926 
38,926,623 

48,526,879 



150 



JAMES K. POLK 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

James Knox Polk, the eleventh President of the United 
States, was born on the 2nd of November, 1795, in Mecklen- 
burg County, North Carolina. His ancestors were emigrants 
from Ireland, who settled in Somerset County, on the eastern 
shore of Maryland. 

His father was a plain farmer, but an energetic, enterpris- 
ing man, a strong Democrat, and an ardent admirer and sup- 
porter of Jefferson. In 1806, he removed with his family to 




JAMES K. POLK. 

Tennessee. Having prepared himself, under Mr. Black, a 
classical teacher, bis son James K. Polk, in 1815, entered the 
University of North Carolina, being then in his twentieth year, 
and in 1818, graduated with the highest honors of his class. 

Having returned to Tennessee, he commenced the study of 
law in the office of Felix Grundy, was admitted to th«. 

151 



152 JAMES K. POLK. 

bar at the close of 1820, and soon became a leading practi- 
tioner. In 1823, he was elected to the legislature of his State, 
and after two years, was elected to represent his District in 
Congress. He was a staunch Democrat, the personal and 
political friend of General Jackson, and a firm opponent of 
Mr. Adams. 

He was elected Speaker of the House in 1835, and re-elect- 
ed to that position in 1837. For fourteen years, he served his 
District in Congress ; then declined a re-election, but subse- 
quently, in 1839, was nominated for Governor, and was elect- 
ed by a large majority. After serving two years, he was re- 
nominated, but was defeated by James C. Jones, the Whig 
candidate. 

On the 29th of May, 1844, Mr. Polk received the nomination 
of the Democratic National Convention assembled at Balti- 
more, for President of the United S tates, and was subsequently 
elected, receiving 170 Electoral votes, against 105 for Henry 
Clay. George M. Dallas was elected Vice-President, by the 
same majority over Mr. Frelinghuysen. 

He was inaugurated on the 4th of Marcl\ 1845. During his 
administration, war was commenced with Alexico, which re- 
sulted in a treaty, whereby California and New Mexico were 
ceded to the United States. The controversy with Great 
Britain, respecting the North West boundary, was also settled 
by treaty, and an independent treasury system was estab- 
lished. 

After the inauguration of General Taylor, he returned to 
Tennessee where he expected to spend the remainder of his 
days in retirement ; but his days were few. He was seized 
with the chronic diarrhoea about three months after his term 
of office had expired, and he died on the 15th of June, 1849, 
in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 



TAYLOR'S AND FILLMORE'S 
ADMINISTRATIONS, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
184,9-1853. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE WHIGS. 

President Taylor died July 9, 1850. 



15S 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENTS: 
Zachary Taylor, Louisiana. 1849. 

Millakd Fillmore, New York. 1850. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 

Millard Fillmore, New York. 1849. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 

John M. Clayton, Delaware. 1849 

Daniel Webster, Massachusetts. 185Q 

Edward Everett, Massachusetts. 1852. 
SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY. 

William M. Meredith, Penn. 1849. 

Thomas Corvvin, Ohio. 1$50. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

George W. Crawford, Georgia. 1849. 

Charles M. Conrad, Louisiana. 1850. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 

William B. Preston, Virginia. 1849. 

Wm. A. Graham, North Carolina. 1850. 

John P. Kennedy, Maryland. 1852, 

SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR. 

Thomas Ewing, Ohio. 1849. 

Alex. H. H. Stuart, Virginia. 1850. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. 

Jacob Collamer, Vermont. 1849. 

Nathan K. Hall, New York. 1850. 

Samuel D. Hubbard, Connecticut. 1852. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. 
Reverdy Johnson, Maryland. 1849. 

John J. Crittenden, Kentucky. 1850. 

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Expenditures. 


Debt. 


1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 


$147,857,439 
178,138,318 
216,224,932 
212.945,442 


$145,755,820 
151,898.790 
218,388,011 
209,658,366 


$56,386,422 
44,604,718 
48,476,104 
46.712,608 


$64,704,693 
64,228.238 
62,560-395 
65.130,692 



154 



ZACHARY TAYLOR 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Zachary Taylor, the twelth President of the United States, 
was born in Orange County, Virginia, on the twenty-fourth 
of November, 17*1. His father, Richard Taylor, served with 
valor and zeal throughout the Revolutionary war. He held 
the commission of Colonel, was engaged in many battles, and 
rendered valuable aid to General Washington at Trenton. 

The year following the birth of Zachary, Colonel Richard 
Taylor emigrated with his family to Kentucky, and settled 




ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

near Louisville. He was one of the framers of the Constitu- 
tion of Kentucky, and was for many years a member of the 
Legislature of that State. 

The early education of Zachary was necessarily limited. 
He assisted his father on the farm, until he was past twenty- 
one years of age. He received a commission as Lieutenant in 

155 



156 ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

the 8eventh Regiment of United States Infantry, from Presi- 
dent Jefferson, on the third of May, 1808. 

In 1810, he was married to Miss Margaret Smith, a lady of 
Maryland. In 1812, he was placed in command of Fort Har- 
rison, where he was attacked by a large number of Indians, 
and for his heroic defence of the fort, the President conferred 
upon him the rank of Major by brevet. 

On the 20th of April, 1819, Major Taylor received the com- 
mission of a Lieutenant Colonel, and in 1832, was promoted 
by President Jackson to the rank of Colonel. He was enga- 
ged in the war against Black Hawk, and subsequently against 
the Seminole Indians in Florida, and had command of the 
United States troops in the desperate and bloody battle of 
Okeechobee, where he was again victorious. 

For the distinguished services rendered in this battle, he re- 
ceived the thanks of the President in 1838, and was promoted 
to the rank of Brigadier-General by brevet soon after. In 
the war with Mexico, General Taylor displayed great military 
skill, sound judgment, and heroic bravery, as evinced in the 
memorable battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and 
Buena Vista. 

His determined bravery, and brilliant achievements during 
the campaigns in Mexico, secured him the love and admira- 
tion of the people of the United States. He had taken no ac- 
tive part in politics, but was considered a Whig. 

At the Whig National Convention, which met at Philadel- 
phia on the 1st of June, 1848, he received the nomination for 
the presidency on the fourth ballot, having received 171 
votes, against 35 for Clay, 60 for Scott, and 14 for Webster. 
At the election in November, he received 163 of the Electoral 
votes, against 127 for General Cass, the Democratic candi- 
date. 

His inauguration took place on Monday, the 5th of March, 
1849, before a very large assemblage of people. 

Early in July, 1850, he was seized with an alarming illness, 
which, assuming the form of a billious fever, soon terminated 
his life. He died in the city of Washington, on the 9th of 
July, 1850, in the 66th year of his age, having discharged the 
duties of President, one year, four months and four days. 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth President of the United 
States, was born at Summer Hill, in Cayuga County, New 
York, January, 7th, 1800. 

His father, Nathaniel Fillmore, was a farmer, but lost his 
property by reason of some defect in the title. In 1819, he 
removed to Erie County, New York, and purchased a small 
farm which he cultivated with his own hands. His mother's 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 

name was Phebe Millard ; she was a daughter of Dr. Abia- 
thar Millard, and died in 1831. 

The early education of Mr. Fillmore was extremely limited, 
and at a suitable age he was apprenticed to a wool-carder, but 
he improved every leisure moment in reading and cultivating 
his mind, having an in insatiable thirst for knowledge. He 
remained four years as an apprentice, when he was advised by 
the late Judge Wood, of Cayuga County, whose acquaintance 

157 



158 MILLARD FILLMORE. 

he had formed, to quit his trade and study law, and he very 
generously offered to give him a place in his office, and to ad- 
vance money to defray his expenses. 

Having accepted this offer, he entered Judge Wood's office 
and remained there for two years, partially supporting him- 
self, however, by teaching three months in each year. In the 
fall of 1821, he removed to Erie County and entered a law of- 
fice in Buffalo. In 1826, he was married to Abigail Powers, 
daughter of Rev. Lemuel Powers, a lady very highly esteem- 
ed for her many virtues. 

In 1827, Mr. Fillmore was admitted as an attorney, and in 
1829, as a Counselor of the Supreme Court of that State. He 
formed a copartnership with an elder member of the bar in 
Buffalo, and continued a successful practice in that city till 
1847, when he removed to Albany, having been elected Comp- 
troller. Previous to this, however, he had served for several 
years in the Legislature of that State, and had won the confi- 
dence of all other members. 

He was elected to Congress in the fall of 1832, and 
continued for several years to represent his District. 
In 1844, he reluctantly accepted the Whig nomination 
for Governor of New York, but was defeated. In 1848, 
he was nominated by the Whigs, in the National Conven- 
tion, for Vice-President, being put upon the ticket with Gen- 
eral Taylor, and received the same number of Electoral votes. 
After he had entered upon his duties of Vice-President, he ex- 
hibited great wisdom and firmness, and as the presiding offi- 
cer of the Senate, he exercised great courtesy, and ability. 

On the 10th of July, 1850, after the decease of General Tay- 
lor, Mr. Fillmore took his oath of office as President. The 
old Cabinet having resigned, he selected a new Cabinet of em- 
inent men, including Daniel Webster, as Secretary of State. It 
was a critical period in the history of the Country, as many 
difficult aud exciting questions were under discussion, but his 
messages were calm, conciliatory, yet firm, and many vexed 
questions were settled during his administration. 

Mr. Fillmore died at Buffalo, N. Y., March 8, 1874. 



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION, 

WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

1853-1857. 



ONE TERM— FOUK YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



159 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
Fbanklin Pierce, New Hampshire. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 
William R. King, Alabama. 

SECRETARY OF STATE: 
William L. Marcy, New York. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY : 
James Guthrie, Kentucky. 

SECRETARY OF WAR : 
Jefferson Davis, Mississippi. 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY : 
James C. Dobbin, North Carolina. 

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: 
Robert McClennand, Michigan. 

POSTMASTER -GENERAL : 
James Campbell, Pennsylvania. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL : 
Caleb Cdshing, Massachusetts. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 


$267,978,647 
30!, 562,381 
261.468.520 
314,639,943 


$230,976,157 
278,241,064 
275.156,846 
326,964,908 


$54,577,061 
75,473,119 
66,164,775 
72,726,341 


$67,340,628 
47,242,206 
39,969,731 
30,963,900 



160 



FRANKLIN PIEHCE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Franklin Pierce is the son of General Benjamin Pierce, an 
officer in the old War of Independence, and was born at Hills- 
borough, New Hampshire, November 23rd, 1804, and was the 
fourteenth President of the United States. 

In early life he received a liberal education, and at sixteen 
years of age, entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine. 
He graduated in 1834, studied law, and was admitted to prac- 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 

tice at the bar in 1827, and by degrees attained the highest 
rank in his profession. 

He became an active politician, and a warm supporter of 
General Jackson in 1828. The following year he was elected 
to represent his District in the State Legislature, where he re- 
mained four years. In 1833, he was elected to Congress, and 
represented his constituents for four vears in the House of 
11 161 



162 FRANKLIN PIEKCE. 

Representatives, and was then elected by the Legislature of his 
State, to a seat in the Senate of the United States. 

In 1834, he married the daughter of Rev. Dr. Appleton, for- 
merly President of Bowdoin College, and subsequently remov- 
ed to Concord, which has since been his place of residence. 
When the war with Mexico broke out, he was active in rais- 
ing the New England regiment of Volunteers, and having 
been commissioned a Brigadier-General, he joined the army in 
Mexico under General Scott, where he distinguished himself in 
many hard-fought battles. 

At the Democratic Convention held in Bnltimore, in 1852, 
he was unexpectedly nominated as the candidate for the next 
Presidency. He was elected by an overwhelming majority, 
having received 254 of the Electoral votes, while General 
Scott, the opposing candidate, received only 42. William R. 
King, of Alabama, was elected Vice-President, but was 
unable to take his seat by reason of increasing ill-health, 
which terminated his life in April, 1853. 

Mr. Pierce was inaugurated as President on the 4th of 
March, 1853, and at the expiration of his term of office, he 
retired to private life. He died at Concord, N. H., October 
8, 1869. 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

1857-1861. 



ONE TERM— FOUR YEARS. 

ELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



163 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT: 

James Buchanan, Pennsylvania. 

VICE-PRESIDENT : 

John C. Breckinridge, Kentucky. 

SECRETARIES OF STATE : 

Lewis Cass, Michigan. 1857. 

Jeremiah S. Black, Pennsylvania. 1800. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY: 

Howell Cobb, Georgia. 1857. 

Philip F. Thomas, Maryland, 1860. 

John A. Dix, New York. 1801. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 
John B. Floyd, Virginia. 1857. 

Joseph Holt, Kentucky. 1801. 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY : 
Isaac Toucey, Connecticut. 1857. 

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. 
Jacob Thompson, Mississippi. 1857. 

POST MASTERS-GENERAL : 

Aaron V. Bkown, Tennessee. 1857. 

Joseph Holt, Kentucky. 1859. 

Horatio King, Maine. 1801. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 

Jeremiah S. Black, Pennsylvania. 1857. 
Edwin M. Stanton, Pennsylvania. 1800. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 


$362,890,141 
282,613,150 
338,768,130 
362,162,541 


$362,960,608 
324,644,421 
356,789,461 
400,122,296 


$71,274,587 
82.002,186 
83,678,643 
77.055,125 


$29,060,386 
44,910,777 
58,754,699 
64,769,703 



164 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the Repub- 
lic, was of Irish parentage, and was born in Franklin County, 
Pennsylvania, on the 23rd of April, 1791. He received a liber- 
al education, and graduated at Dickinson College with the 
highest honors, at the early age of eighteen years. 

He studied law in the office of James Hopkins, of Lancas- 
ter, and in due time was admitted to the bar, and soon became 




JAMES BUCHANAN. 

a successful practitioner, attaining a high rank in his profes- 
sion. 

In 1814, when but twenty-three years of age, he was elected 
to the Legislature of his State, and in 1820, was sent to repre- 
sent his District in Congress, where he remained for ten 

165 



166 JAMES BUCHANAN. 

years, taking an active part in all of its poceedings and becom- 
ing distinguished as a debater. 

He was a warm and consistent supporter of President Jack- 
son, who appointed him a Minister to Russia in 1831. In 1834, 
he was elected to a seat in the United States Senate, and rep- 
resented his constituents in that body for ten years. 

In 1845, he was appointed Secretary of State, by President 
Polk, and acted as such during his term of service, and at 
the expiration thereof, retired to private life. In 1853, he 
was appointed Minister to England by President Pierce, in 
which official position ne exhibited all the great qualities of 
an eminent Statesman. 

Mr. Buchanan was nominated as a candidate for the Presi- 
dency, by the Democratic National Convention which assem- 
bled at Cincinnati, in June, 1856, and after a most exciting 
canvass he was elected by a large majority. The opposing 
candidates were Ex-President Fillmore, nominated by a Na- 
tional Convention of the American Party, and John C. Fre- 
mont, nominated by a National Convention of Republicans. 

The last year of his term of office was an eventful one : the 
Slavery question had been revived, and the most intense ex- 
citement existed in the public mind. For months previously, a 
band of conspirators, including three or four members of his 
Cabinet, had been plotting treason against the government, 
and when in November,1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected to 
the Presidency, this treason broke out into open rebellion, and 
in December, 1860, the first of the Southern States seceded, 
and others soon followed. 

Mr. Buchanan, insisting that he had no right to coerce a 
State, even in rebellion, and possessed no Constitutional pow- 
er to use the army and navy to put down the rebellion, pas- 
sively sat, with closed eyes and folded arms; which inaction 
greatly encouraged the conspirators, to go on and complete 
their work of destroying the Nation. 

After the close of his administration, he retired to Wheat- 
land, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he died, June 1st, 
1868. 



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
1861-1865. 



ELECTED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FOR TWO TERMS. 

Administered Four Years, One Month and Eleven Days. 
Was assassinated the Uth of April 1865. Died April 15th, 1865. 



167 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
Abraham Lincoln, Illinois. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS : 
HaNNiBAL Hamlin, Maine. 
Andrew Johnson, Tennessee. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
William H. Seward, New York. 

SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY : 
Salmon P. Chase, Ohio. 1861. 

William Pitt Fessenden, Maine. 1864. 
Hugh McCuLLOeH, Indiaua. 1865. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 

Simon Cameron, Pennsylvania. 1861. 
Edwin M. Stanton, Pennsylvania. 1862. 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY : 
Gideon Wells, Connecticut. 1861. 

SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR. 
Caleb B. Smith, Indiana. 1861. 

John P. Usher, Indiana. 1863. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL : 
Montgomery Blair, Maryland. 1861. 
William Dennison, Ohio. 1864. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 
Edward Bates, Missouri. 1861. 

James J. Speed, Kentucky. 1864. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1861 
1862 
1S63 
1864 


$286,598,135 
275,357,051 
252,919,920 
329,562,895 


$243,971,277 
229,938,985 
322,353,254 
301,984.561 


$85,387,313 

510.841,700 

8(15,796,630 

1.298.144.656 


$90,867,828 

514.211. 371 

1,098,796.181 

1,740,690,489 



168 




LINCOLN'S INAUGURATION. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United 
States, was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, February 12th, 
1809. His education in early life was quite limited. In 1816, 
his parents removed with him to Spencer County, Indiana, 
and subsequently he romoved to Illinois. 

In 1830, he was a clerk in a store ; in 1832, was a Captain of 
Volunteers in the Black Hawk war, and in 1834, was elected 
to the Legislature of the State of Illinois, where he served 
four years. 

In 1836, he was licensed to practice law in the courts of 
that State, and he commenced his profession at Springfield, 
in 1837. 

Mr. Lincoln soon rose to distinction, and became a promi- 
nent leader of the Whig party in Illinois. He canvassed tlie 
entire State for Henry Clay in 1844, and in 1846, was elected 
to Congress, where he served his constituents with fidelity. 

On the 16th of May, 1860, the Representatives of the Re- 
publican party assembled in Convention, in an immense 
building called " The Wigwam," erected for that purpose in 
Chicago, and on the 10th, they nominated Mr. Lincoln as their 
candidate for the Presidency, and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, 
for the Vice-Presidency. There were three other candidates 
for the Presidency in the field, viz; John Bell, nominated by 
the Constitutional Jjnion Party ; Stephen A. Douglass, by the 
regular Democratic Convention, and John C. Breckenridge, by 
the Seceders from that Convention, calling themselves the 
Halionai Democratic Convention. Mr. Lincoln was elected, 
having received 180 of the Electoral votes, or 57 more than all 
his opponents. 

He was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1861, amid intense 
excitement. Violence was apprehended, but General Scott 

169 



170 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



having made ample provision to preserve the peaee, all passed 
off quietly. The rebellion having broken out into open hos- 
tilities, commencing with the seizure of Government proper- 
ty, and the attack on Fort Sumter, the President, on the 15th 
of April, 1861, issued his first call for seventy-five thousand 
men. On the 1st of January, 1863, he issued his Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation, declaring all slaves in the rebellious States 
free. 
In November, 1864, Mr. Lincoln, having again received the 




MEDAL FROM THE FRENCH DEMOCRATS. 

nomination was re-elected to the Presidency, with Andrew 
Johnson as Vice-President; they were inaugurated on the 
4th of March, 1865, and the following month General Lee sur- 
rendered his army, thus virtually terminating the rebellion. 

On the 2nd of April, the President, by proclamation, de- 
clared the war to be at an end. 

There was great rejoicing throughout the Republic, in the 
great success of our arms, and the bright prospect of peace, 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



m 



soon, however, to be changed to grief and mourning. On the 
14th of April, our lamented President was shot through the 
head by one John Wilkes Booth, while seated with his wife 
in a private box, in Ford's theatre in Washington, causing his 
death the following morning, he then being fifty-six years of 
age. It was the result of a conspiracy to assassinate, not only 
the President, but also members of his Cabinet and others. His 
remains were interred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery, at Spring- 
field, Illinois. 




*MEDAL FROM THE FRENCH DEMOCRATS. 



•The above Engraving, represents a magnificent Gold Medal, which 
was presented by forty thousand French Democrats, to the President's 
widow, to express their sympathy for Our Republic, in the loss of so il- 
lustrious a Chief Magistrate. It is in outline, about one third less in 
size than the original— For a full description of it, see " Civil War in 
America," by Lossing. — 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
1865-1869. 



AS VICE-PRESIDENT, HE SUCCEEDS MR. LINCOLN FOR 
REMAINDER OF TERM. 



MS 



CABINET. 



PRESIDENT : 
Andrew Johnson, Tennessee. 

SECRETARY OF STATE : 
William H. Seward, New York. 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: 
Hugh McCulloch, Indiana. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR : 
Edwin M. Stanton, Pennsylvania. 1865. 
Ulysses S. Grant, Illinois. 1867. 

Edwin M. Stanton, Pennsylvania. 1868. 
John M. Schofield, Missouri. 1868. 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY : 
Gideon Wells, Connecticut. 1865. 

SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR. 
John P. Usher, Indiana. 1865. 

James Harlan, Iowa. 1865. 

Orville, H. Browning, Illinois. 1866. 

POST MASTERS-GENERAL : 
William DennIson. Ohio. 1865. 

Alex. W. Randall, Wisconsin. 1866. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 

James Speed, 1865. 

Henry Stanberry, Ohio. 1866. 

William M. Evarts, New York. 1868. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Expenditures 


Debt 


1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 


$234,339,810 
445,512,158 
411,733,309 
373,400,448 


$336,697,123 
550,684,299 
438,577,312 
454,301,713 


$1,897,674,224 
541,072,666 
393,079,655 
369,889,970 


$2,682,593,026 
2,783,425,879 
2,692,199,215 
2,636,320,964 



173 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth President of the United 
States, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the 29th of 
December, 1808. At an early age he was apprenticed to learn 
the business of a tailor, and continued at the trade for several 
years. 

Unlike most of the young men of this country, he grew up in 




ANDREW JOHNSON. 

utter ignorance of the most common branches of an English 
education, and was not able either to read or write until he was 
twenty years of age, after removing to Greenville in East Ten- 
nessee. He subsequently became an Alderman of that place, 
and in 1836, was elected Mayor, which office he filled for three 
years. 
In 1885, he was chosen to the State Legislature, and in 1843, 

174 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 175 

he was elected to Congress, and represented his State therein 
for several years. In 1853, he was chosen Governor of Ten- 
nessee, and was re-elected to that office. 

In 1857, he was elected United States Senator, and was sub- 
sequently, in 1862, appointed by President Lincoln, Military 
Governor of Tennessee. He had previously been a Democrat 
in politics, and in the election of 1860, had used his influence 
to elect Mr. Breckenridge to the Presidency. He professed, 
however, to have changed his views materially, condemn- 
ed the course of the South in the rebellion, and supported the 
measures of President Lincoln. 

The Union National Convention, held at Baltimore, in 
June, 1864, nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency, and 
Mr. Johnson for the Vice-Presidency, and in November, they 
were elected by a large majority. 

On the 15th of April, 1865, a few hours after the death of 
Mr. Lincoln, he took the oath of office as President of the 
United States. Disagreements soon arose between Congress 
and the President, respecting the reconstruction of the States 
lately in rebellion, and it soon became evident that he was 
more friendly to the late enemies of the country, than he was 
to her true, and tried friends. He issued an order to Mr. 
Stanton, removing him from his office of Secretary of War, 
and performed many acts, considered by the majority of the 
people, as highly improper in a Chief Magistrate. 

On the 22nd of February, 1868, by a vote of 126 to 47, it 
was resolved by the House of Representatives, that Andrew 
Johnson, President, be impeached of high crimes and misde- 
meanors. Articles of impeachment were prepared and pre- 
sented, and on the 5th of March, 1868, the Senate of the Uni- 
ted States, for the first time, was organized as a court for the 
trial of the President. Chief-Justice Salmon P. Chase presid- 
ed. The trial continued from the 30th of March, to the 6th 
of May, 1868, when the case was submitted to the Senate. Its 
decision was given on the 26th of May. Thirty-five found 
him guilty, and nineteen voted " Not guilty." 

In order to convict, it was necessary that two thirds should 
vote in the affirmative ; one vote of the required number being 
wanted, he was acquitted. 

Mr. Johnson died, July 31, 1875. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION, 

WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

1869-1877. 



TWO TERMS-EIGHT YEARS. 

ELECTED BY TEE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 



PRESIDENT : 
Ulysses S. Grant, Illinois. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS : 
Schuyler Colfax, Indiana. 
Henry Wilson, Massachusetts. 
SECRETARY OF STATE : 
Hamilton Fish, New York. 
SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY : 
George S. Bodtwell, Massachusetts. 
William A. Richardson, Massachusetts. 
Benjamin H. Bristow, Kentucky. 

SECRETARIES OF WAR: 
John A. Rawlins, Illinois. 1869. 

William W. Belknap, Iowa. 1869. 

Alphonso Taft, Ohio. 1876. 

SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY : 
Adolphe E. Borie, Pennsylvania. 1869. 

George M. Robeson, New Jersey. 1869. 

SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR: 
Jacob D. Coxe, Ohio. 1869. 

Columbus Delano, Ohio. 1870. 

Zachariah Chandler, Michigan. 1875. 

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL : 

John A. J. Creswell, Maryland. 1869. 

Marshall Jewell, Connecticut. 1874. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL : 

E. Rockwood Hoar, Massachusetts. 1869. 

George H. Williams, Oregon. 1869. 

Edwards Pierrepont New York. 1875. 



STATEMENT OF THE PUBLIC DEBT, Nov. 30 1875. 

Total amount of Principal $2,207,986,255 

" " " Interest 34,960,516 

Total Debt $2,242,946,771 



Cash in the Treasury, Coin $70,404,676 

Currency 12,014.962 

Deposits for Redemption Certificates 42,610,000 

55125,029,638 

Debt Less Cash in Treasury $2,117,917,133 

Decrease op Debt from March 1, 1869 to Dec. 1, 1875, $509,862,271 
13 177 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Our present chief magistrate, Ulysses S. Grant, being the 
eighteenth President of the United States, is of English descent. 
His grandfather, Noah Grant, was born in Coventry, Connect- 
icut, on the 23d of June, 1748. He took an active part in the 
battle of Lexington, in the capacity of a Lieutenant, and 




ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

served through the Revolutionary war, having been promoted 
to the rank of Captain. 

He subsequently removed to Westmoreland County, Penn., 
where, on the 23d of January, 1794, his father, Jesse Root 
Grant was born. In 1799, the family removed to Ohio, and on 
the 27th of April, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clarmont County, 

178 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 179 

Ohio, in a small frame, one-story dwelling, was born Ulysses 
S. Grant, the subject of this sketch. 

His mother's maiden name was Hannah Simpson ; she was 
the only daughter of a thrifty farmer, a lady much beloved and 
respected. 

A few months after his birth, his father removed to George- 
town, in Brown County, where he prosecuted successfully his 
business as a tanner. The early education of Ulysses was very 
much neglected, and being passionately fond of horses, most 
of his time was spent in driving the " team," and making him- 
self useful to his father. He subsequently attended school at 
Maysville, Kentucky, and at the Academy at Ripley. 

Through the influence of Thomas L. Hamer, a Member of 
Congress from the Georgetown district, he received an appoint- 
ment to the Military Academy at West Point and at once ap- 
plied himself to study, under a professional teacher, and on 
the 15th of May, 1839, he started for West Point, being then 
in his eighteenth year. 

He soon became initiated, and grew quite popular among 
the cadets, for his modesty and amiability, and was nicknamed 
" Uncle Sam." He was a fair scholar, but excelled in mathe- 
matics. 

On the 30th of June, 1843, Grant graduated, being the twen- 
ty-first, on a list of thirty-nine. These were all that were left 
of more than oue hundred who had entered the class with him. 
He was at once appointed brevet second Lieutenant in the 
Fourth Infantry, and took an active part in the Mexican War 
which followed, exhibiting at all times, great coolness and 
bravery, and at the close of which, he bore the brevet rank of 
Captain. In 1853, he was promoted to the rank of full Cap- 
tain. 

At St. Louis, on the 22nd of August, 1848, Grant married 
Miss Julia B. Dent, daughter of Colonel Frederick Dent, a 
young lady, very attractive in her manners, and amiable in 
disposition, whom he had known, and to whom he had been 
engaged for some years. 

In 1854, he resigned his commission, and having lost some 
sixteen hundred dollars by the sutler of his regiment, he found 



1 80 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

himself reduced to poverty and want, against which he struggled 
for several years, without means, and without any legitimate 
business. 

His father, Colonel Dent, had given his daughter Julia, six- 
ty acres of land from his farm at Whitehaven, and also three 
or four slaves. On this land he built himself a small house, 
hauling the logs for its walls, and splitting the shingles for the 
roof with his own hands. This place he named " Hardscrab- 
ble," suggested by the hard struggle he experienced in obtain- 
ing from it sufficient for the bare sustenance of his family. 

After four years of hard labor upon his small farm, and af 
ter expending some two thousand dollars his father had ad- 
vanced him, he gave up farming as a failure, and went into 
partnership with one Mr. Boggs, at St. Louis, Mo., as real es- 
tate agents. 

This copartnership commenced January 1st, 1859, and con- 
tinued for about nine months, when, finding the business 
would not support two families, the copartnership was dis- 
solved. From this time, to March, 1860, Captain Grant had 
no permanent business, although he had a wife and four chil- 
dren to support. 

In March, 1860, he removed with his family to Galena, Illi- 
nois, his father and brothers having offered him a situation in 
their store, at an annual salary of six hundred dollars \ cv an- 
num, with the promise of an interest in the business, at some 
future time. His father had been successful in business, and 
was worth from seventy-five to one hundred thousand dollars 
at this time. 

About the 1st of May, 1861, after the breaking out of the 
rebellion, through the influence of Elihu B. Washburne, and 
others, Governor Yates, of Illinois, took him into his office, 
as his military adviser, and Adjutant-General. He had pre- 
viously to this, tendered his services to the Government at 
Washington, but his letter had been unanswered. 

On the 4th of May, he was put in command of Camp Yates, 
during the absence of Captain Pope, and subsequently mus- 
tered several regiments into the service. On the 16th of June, 
he was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-First Illinois Volun- 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 181 

teers, and requested to take command at once. Of his com- 
mission, Governor Yates subsequently said, " It was the most 
glorious day of my life when I signed it." 

Being without horse, or uniform, he obtained the indorse- 
ment of an old friend to his note for three hundred dollars, 
which he got discounted, and with the proceeds, purchased 
them. His regiment was first ordered to Mexico, in Missouri, 
and there being no means of transportation, he marched them 
across the country on foot. In two months afterwards, Col- 
onel Grant was appointed a Brigadier-General, his commission 
dating back to the 17th of May. 

From this time, his promotion from rank to rank was rapid. 
In the battles in which he was engaged, he exhibited the same 
military qualities, as had been displayed by General Taylor in 
Mexico. Cool, calculating, persevering, and brave, he went 
into a fight expecting to be victorious, and when he was 
whipped, he did not " see it," and consequently did not " stay 
whipped." 

In his first battle at Belmont, where he handled three thou- 
sand men so successfully, when a member of his staff, who 
had never been under fire before, rode up to him exclaiming, 
14 Why, General, we are entirely lost ! They have surrounded 
us!" he replied, apparently unmoved, "Well then, we will 
cut our way out We have whipped them once to-day, and I 
think we cun again." 

His subsequent brilliant campaigns, did not secure him from 
thevilest of slanders. He was denounced as a drunkard, as be- 
ing blood-thirsty, reckless of human life, incompetent, an ut- 
terly unfit to command a large body of troops. President 
Lincoln was strongly urged to remove him. After his capture 
of Vicksburg, however, where in the capitulation, he received 
fifteen Generals, about thirty-thousand soldiers, and one hun- 
dred and seventy-two cannon, President Lincoln sent him 
that remarkable autograph letter, dated July 16th, 1863, 
wherein, after acknowledging the great serviees,he had render- 
ed the Country, he concludes with these words, "I now wish to 
make the personal acknowledgement, that you were right, and 
I was wrong." 



182 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

In 1864, a bill passed Congress, reviving the grade of Lieu- 
tenant-General, and authorizing the Executive to confer it 
upon some officer. This high rank in 1798, was created for 
Washington, in anticipation of a war with France. It was 
discontinued when he died. After the Mexican war, it was 
conferred by brevet on Winfield Scott. At the time of the 
passage of the bill, no other Americans had ever held it. 

This bill, being passed, and Grant having been appointed 
to this office, by the President, he was telegraphed to report 
to the War Department in person, which he did, and received 
personally from the President, the commission. Soon after 
this he started West, and upon his arrival at Nashville, found 
an order from the War Department, formally assigning him 
to the command of all the forces of the United States, with head- 
quarters in the field. 

He made short work with the rebellion, and upon the 
surrender of Lee and his army, it was virtually at an end. 
General Grant's military career, from beginning to end, was a 
glorious one. He has fought more battles, and gained more 
victories, has captured more prisoners, and taken more guns 
than any General of modern times. 

On the 12th of August, 1867, President Johnson suspended 
Stanton, and made Grant Secretary of War ad interim. The 
Senate subsequently refused to sanction this suspen- 
sion, whereupon Grant surrendered the office to Stanton, 
against the wishes of President Johnson. 

On the 20th of May, at a National Convention of the Repub- 
lican party held in Chicago, General Grant was unanimously 
nominated for the Presidency, and Schuyler Colfax for the 
Vice-Presidency, both of whom were elected by large majori- 
ties over Seymour and Blair, the opposing candidates, and he 
was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1869. 

The administration of President Grant has been financially, 
a successful one. At the commencement of his term, March 
4th, 1869, the aggregate debt of the Country was nearly two 
billions, six hundred and thirty millions of dollars. Since 
then it has rapidly decreased. On the 1st of Decem- 
ber 1871, it had decreased two hundred and seventy-seven 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 183 

millions. The decrease from March 1, 1869, to December 1, 
18*76, was over Jive hundred millions. 

On the 5th day of June, 1872, at a National Convention of 
the Republican party held in the Academy of Music, in Phila- 
delphia, General Grant, amid the wildest enthusiasm, was 
unanimously renominated for the Presidency, and Henry 
Wilson was nominated for the Vice-Presidency, both of whom 
were elected by large majorities. 



ELECTORAL VOTES 

FOR 

President and Vice-President of tie United States, 

UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 



FIRST TERM— 1789 TO 1793 

At the time of this election, only eleven states had ratified 
the Constitution. North Carolinaaud Rhode Island had rejected 
it, and the Legislature of New York, by reason of some disa- 
greement between the two branches, had failed in passing a 
law respecting the choosing of the Electors, and consequently 
no Electors were appointed to represent that State. Only ten 
States, therefore, participated in the election. 

By the Constitution, as it then stood, the presidential elec- 
tors voted for ttoo persons, and the one receiving the highest 
number of votes, was to be the President, and the one having 
the next highest number, was to be the Vice-President. It 
was necessary that the President should receive a majority of 
the whole number of electoral votes, but this was not neces- 
sary to elect the Vice-President. 

Whole number of Electors, 69. 

Electoral Vote — George Washington, 69 ; John Adams, 
34 ; John Jay, 9 ; R. H. Harrison, 6 ; John Rutledge, 6 ; John 
Hancock, 4 ; George Clinton, 3 ; Samuel Huntington, 2 ; John 
Milton, 2 ; James Armstrong, 1 ; Edward Telfair, 1 ; Benjamin 
Lincoln, 1. 

George Washington was thereupon declared the President, 
and John Adams, the Vice-President. 



SECOND TERM— 1793 TO 1797. 

Fifteen states participated in this election ; Rhode Island 
and North Carolina having ratified the Constitution, and two 
new States, Vermont and Kentucky, having been admitted in- 
to the Union. 

184 



ELECTORAL VOTES. 185 

Whole number of Electors, 132. 

Electoral Vote— George Washington, 132 ; John Adams, 
77 ; George Clinton, 50 ; Thomas Jefferson, 4 ; Aaron Burr, 1. 

George Washington was therefore again declared the Presi- 
dent, and John Adams the Vice-President. 



THIRD TERM— 1797 TO 1801. 

Tennessee having been admitted, the whole number of 
States, 16. 

Whole number of Electors, 138. 

Electoral Vote— John Adams, 71 ; Thomas Jefferson, 68; 
Aaron Burr, 30 ; Samuel Adams, 15 ; Oliver Ellsworth, 11 ; 
George Clinton, 7; John Jay, 5; James Iredell, 3; George 
Washington, 2 ; John Henry, 2 ; S. Johnson, 2 ; Charles C. 
Pinckney, 1. 

Jonn Adams was therefore declared the President, and 
Thomas Jefferson the Vice-President. 



FOURTH TERM— 1801 TO 1805. 

Whole number of States, 16. 

Whole number of Electors, 188. 

Electoral Vote— Thomas Jefferson, 73 ; Aaron Burr, 73 ; 
John Adams, 65; Charles C. Pinckney, 64; John Jay, 1. 

The votes for Jefferson and Burr being the highest, and 
equal, there was no election. It was necessary, therefore, un- 
derthe Constitution, that the House of Representatives should 
decide which one was to be President, and which one Vice- 
President. On the ZQth ballot, Mr. Jefferson was chosen Pres- 
ident, and Mr. Burr Vice-President. 



FIFTH TERM— 1805 TO 1809. 

Previous to this election, an amendment to the Constitution' 
relative to the election of President and Vice-President had 
been proposed, so as to designate which person had been voted for 



186 ELECTORAL VOTES. 

as President, and which one as Vice-President. This Amendment 
had passed both branches of Congress, and in 1804, it had been 
ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the States as 
required by the Constitution, and on the 25th of September, 
1804, it was announced by the Secretary of State, as having 
been duly adopted and ratified. Hence at this election, they 
were voted for separately. Ohio had also been admitted into 
the Union. 

Whole number of States, 17. 

Whole number of Electors, 176. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Thomas Jefferson, 162 ; 
Charles C. Pinckney, 14. 

For Vice-President, George Clinton, 162 ; Rufus King, 14. 

Mr. Jeffe?son was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Clinton the Vice-President. 



SIXTH TERM— 1809 TO 1813. 

Whole number of States, 17. 

Whole number of Electors, 175. 

Electoral Vote. — For President, James Madison, 122; 
George Clinton, 6 ; C. C. Pinckney, 47 ; 

For Vice-President, George Clinton, 113 ; James Madison, 
3 ; James Monroe, 3 ; John Langdon, 9, ; Rufus King, 47 ; 

Mr. Madison was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Clinton the Vice-President. 



SEVENTH TERM— 1813 TO 1817. 

Whole number of States, 18. 

Whole number of Electors, 217. 

Electoral Vote. — For President, James Madison, 128; 
De Witt Clinton, of New York, 89. 

For Vice-President, Elbridge Gerry, 131 ; Jared Ingersoll, 
86. 

Mr. Madison was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Gerry the Vice-President. 



ELECTORAL VOTES. 187 

EIGHTH TERM— 1817 TO 1821. 

Whole number of States, 19. 

Whole number of Electors, 217. 

Electoral Vote. — For President, James Monroe, 183 ; 
Ruf us King, 34. 

For Vice-President, Daniel D. Tompkins, 183; John E. 
Howard, 22 ; James Ross, 5 ; John Marshall, 4 ; Robert G. 
Harper, 3. 

Mr. Monroe was therefore declared the President elect, and 
Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-President. 



NINTH TERM— 1821 TO 1825. • 

Whole number of States, 24. 

Whole number of Electors, 282. 

Electoral Vote. — For President, James Monroe, 231 ; 
John Quincy Adams, 1. 

For Vice-President, Daniel D. Tompkins, 218; Richard 
Stockton, 8 ; Robert G. Harper, 1 ; Richard Rush, 1 ; Daniel 
Rodney, 1. 

Mr. Madison, was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Tompkins the Vice-President. 



TENTH TERM— 1825 TO 1829. 

Whole number of States, 24. 

Whole number of Electors, 261. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Andrew Jackson, 99; 
John Quincy Adams, 84 ; William H. Crawford, 41; Henry 
Clay, 37. 

For Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, 182 : Nathan Sanf ord, 
30 ; Nathaniel Macon, 24 ; Andrew Jackson, 13 ; Martin Van 
Buren, 9; Henry Clay, 2. 

Neither of the candidates for the Presidency receiving a 
majority, there was no election, and the vote was carried to 
the House of Representatives, where Adams received the vote 
of 13 States, Jackson of 7 States, and Crawford of 4 States. 

Adams was therefore elected President, and John C. Cal- 
houn, the Vice-President. 



188 ELECTORAL VOTES. 

ELEVENTH TERM— 1829 TO 1833. 

Whole number of States, 24. 

Whole number of Electors, 261. 

EIectoral Vote.— For President, Andrew Jackson, 178 ; 
John Quincy Adams, 83 ; 

For Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, 171 ; Richard Rush, 
83 ; William Smith, 7. 

Popular Vote. — For President, Jackson, 650,028 ; Adams, 
512,158. 

Mr. Jackson, was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Calhoun, the Vice-President. 



TWELFTH TERM— 1833 TO 1837. 

Whole number of States, 24. 

Whole number of Electors, 288. 

Electoral Vote. — For President, Andrew Jackson, 219; 
Henry Clay, 49; John Floyd, 11 : William Wirt, 7. 

For Vice-President, Martin Van Buren, 189 ; John Sargent, 
49; William Wilkins, 30; Henry Lee, 11: Amos Ellmaker, 7. 

Popular Vote.— For President, Jackson, 687,502 ; Clay, 
550,189; Wirt and Floyd combined, 33,108. 

Mr. Jackson was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Martin Van Buren, the Vice-President. 



THIRTEENTH TERM— 1837 TO 1841. 

Whole number of States, 26. 

Whole number of Electors, 294. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Martin Van Buren, 170 ; 
William H. Harrison, 73 ; Hugh L. White, 26 ; Daniel Web- 
ster, 14 : W. P. Mangum, 11. 

For Vice-President, Richard M. Johnson, 147; Francis 
Granger, 77 ; John Tyler, 47 ; William Smith, 23. 

Popular Vote.— For President, Van Buren, 762,149; all 
others combined, 736,736. 

Mr. Van Buren was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Johnson the Vice-President. 



ELECTORAL VOTE. 189 

FOURTEENTH TERM— 1841 TO 1845. 

Whole number of States, 26. 

Whole number of Electors, 294. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Wm. H. Harrison, 234 ; 
Martin Van Buren, 60. 

For Vice-President, John Tyler, 234; R. M. Johnson, 48; 
L. W. Tazwell, 11 ; James K Polk, 1. 

Popular Vote.— Harrison, 1,274,783 ; Van Buren, 1,128,702 
James G. Birney, 7,609. 

Mr. Harrison was therefore declared the President elect, 
and Mr. Tyler, the Vice-President. 



FIFTEENTH TERM— 1845 TO 1849. 

Whole number of States, 26. 

Whole number of Electors, 275. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, James K. Polk, 170; 
Henry Clay, 105. 

For Vice-President, George M. Dallas, 170 ; Theodore Fre- 
linghuysen; 105. 

Popular Vote. — For President, Polk, 1,335,8C4; Clay, 
1,297,033; Frelinghuyson, 105. 

Mr. Polk was therefore declared the President elect, and 
Mr. Dallas the Vice President. 



SIXTEENTH TERM.— 1849 to 1853. 

Whole number of States, 30. 

Whole number of Electors, 290. 

Electoral Vote. —For President, Zachary Taylor, 163; 
Lewis Cass, 127. 

For Vice President, Millard Fillmore, 163 ; William O. But- 
ler, 127. 

Popular Vote.— Taylor, 1,362,031; Cass, 1,222,445; Van 
Buren, 291,455. 

Mr. Taylor was therefore declared the President elect, and 
Mr. Fillmore the Vice-President. 



190 ELECTORAL VOTE. 

SEVENTEENTH TERM.— 1853 to 1857. 

Whole number of States, 31. 

Whole number of Electors, 296. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Franklin Pierce, 254-, 
Winfield Scott, 42. 

For Vice-President, William P. King, 254; William A. 
Graham, 42. 

Popular Vote.— For President, Pierce, 1,590,490; Scott, 
1,378,589 ; John P. Hale, 157,296. 

Mr. Pierce was therefore declared the President elect, and 
Mr. King the Vice-President. 



EIGHTEENTH TERM.— 1857 to 1861. 

Whole number of States, 31. 

Whole number of Electors, 296. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, James Buchanan, 174 ; 
John C. Fremont, 109; Millard Fillmore, 8. 

For Vice-President, John C. Breckenridge, 174 ; William L. 
Dayton, 109 . Andrew J. Donalson, 8. 

Popular Vote.— Buchanan, 1,832,232; Freemont, 1,341,- 
514 ; Millard Fillmore, 87-1,907. 

Mr. Buchanan was therefore elected President, and Mr. 
Breckenridge the Vice-President. 



NINETEENTH TERM.— 1861 to 1865. 

Whole number of States, 33. 

Whole number of Electors, 303. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Abraham Lincoln, 180 , 
John C. Breckenridge, 72; John Bell, 39; Stephen A. Doug- 
lass, 12. 

For Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin, 180; Joseph Lane, 
72 . Edward Everett, 39 ; H. V. Johnson, 12. 

Popular Vote.— Lincoln, 1,857,610 ; Douglass, 1,365,976 ; 
Breckenridge, 847,953; Bell, 590,631. 

Mr. Lincoln was therefore elected President, and Mr. Ham- 
lin the Vice-President. 



ELECTORAL VOTE. 191 

TWENTIETH TERM.— 1865 to 1869. 

The States in rebellion did not vote in this election. 

Number of States participating in the election, 25. 

Whole number of Electors who voted, 233. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Abraham Lincoln 212 • 
George B. McClellan, 21. 

For Vice-President, Andrew Johnson, 212- George H 
Pendleton, 21. * 

Popular Vote.— For President, Lincoln 2,223,035 ■ Mc 
Clellan, 1,811,754.— Total Vote, 4,034,789. 

Mr. Lincoln was therefore re-elected President, and Mr. 
Johnson elected the Vice-President. 



TWENTY FIRST TERM.— 1869 to 1873. 

Whole number of States which voted, 34. 

Whole number of Electors who voted, 294. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Ulysses S. Grant 214 • 
Horatio Seymour, 80. 

For Vice-President, Schuyler Colfax, 214 ; Blair 80 

Popular Vote.— For President, Grant, 3,021,020 ; Sev- 
mour, 2,716,475.— Total, 5,737,495. J 

Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, did not take part in the 
election. The Legislature of Florida chose the Electors. 

Grant and Colfax were therefore elected. 



TWENTY SECOND TERM.— 1873 to 1877. 

Whole number of States, 37. 

Whole number of Electors, 366. 

Electoral Vote.— For President, Ulysses S. Grant, 292 • 
Horace Greeley, 74. 

Popular Vote.— For President, Grant, 3,579,793 Gree- 
ley; 2,842,425 ; O'Connor, 29,489 ; Black, 5,608 Total Vote, 
6,457,315. Grant's majority over Greeley 737,368 ■ over all. 
702,271. ' 

Grant was therefore elected President, and Wilson, "Vice- 
President. 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1876. 

Popular and Electoral "Vote by States. 



States. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

Calif oruia 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana.- 

Maine 

Mary hind 

Massachusetts... 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New York 

North Carolina.. 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania.... 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia.... 
"Wisconsin 



Total. 



Popular Vote. 



Hayes 
Rtp. 



..68,230 
..38,669 
..78.614 
By 
..59,034 
.. 10,752 
..23,849 
..50,446 
.278,232 
.208,011 
.171,327 
. .78,322 
..97,156 
..75,135 
..66,300 
..71,9S1 
.150,063 
.166,534 
..72,962 
..52,605 
.145.029 
..31,916 
..10,383 
..41,539 
.103,517 
.489,207 
.108 417 
.330,698 
..15,206 
.384,122 
..15,787 
..91,870 
..89,566 
..44.800 
..44,092 
. .95,558 
. .40,69S 
.130,668 



Tilden 
Dem. 



..107,002 
...58,071 
...75,845 
Legisla 
...61,934 
...13,381 
...22,923 
..130,088 
. .258,601 
. .213,526 
..112,099 
...37,9-2 
..159,690 
...70,636 
...49,823 
...91,780 
..108,777 
..141,095 
...48,799 
..112.173 
,.203.( '77 
...17551 
....9,308 
...38,509 
.115,962 
.521,949 
.125,427 
.323,i82 
..14,149 
.366,158 
..10,712 
..90,006 
.133,166 
.104,755 
. .20.254 
.139,670 
..56.455 
.123,927 



4,033.295 4 284,265 



Cooper 
Green. 



.'.'SO 
..44 



ture. 



.774 



Smith 
Pro. 



.378 



.17.233 
..9.533 
..9,001 
. .7.776 
..1,944 



.141 



..3f 
.lit 
.818 



....663 
....33 
....779! 
,.9.i)60i 
..2,311' 



.3.49S 
.2,320 



..1.9S1 



.3,057 
...510 

.7,187 
....68 



.1,373 

.1,509 



81,737 



....64 
.1,599 



. . . .43 

.2,o59 



.1,636 



.1,319 
....60 



.27 



9,522 



Electoral Vote. 



Hayes. Tilden. 



.21 



185 



..3 

!ii 



.15 



.35 
.10 



.12 

..8 



.11 
..5 



184 



Total Vote for Presid n; ial Electors 8,411,139. 

Tilden's Majority overall others 157,391. 

192 



RUTHERFORD B. HATES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



Rutherford Birchard Hayes, was born in Deleware, Ohio, 
October 4th, 1822. His parents, Rutherford Hayes and 
Sophia Birchard, were natives of Windham County, Ver- 
mont, and emigrated to Ohio in 1817. 

Mr. Hayes graduated at Kenyon College, with the first 
honors of his class, in 1842. Soon afterward he entered 
the Law School of Harvard University, from which he grad- 
uated in 1845. He was admitted to the Bar at Marietta, 
and began the practice of his profession at Fremont, Ohio. 

In 1849 he removed to Cincinnati, where he soon acquired 
a fine practice. In 1852 he was married to Miss Lucy 
Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Chillieothe. In 
1858 he was elected City Solicitor, and held the office till the 
Spring of 1861. At this period of his life, he was consid- 
ered one of the most brilliant young lawyers at the Cincin- 
nati Bar, and had acquired an enviable reputation. 

When the rebellion broke out, Mr. Hayes, an original 
Republican, took sides with the Union cause, and his feel- 
ings and sympathy were strongly enlisted. With the aid 
of Judge Matthews, he undertook to raise a regiment of 
volunteers, and soon the 23d Ohio Infantry was organized, 
with W. 8. Rosecrans as Colonel, and Mr. Hayes as Major. 

This regiment was early in the field. It reached Clarks- 
burg, West Va., July 27th 1861, and passed the remainder 
of the year in arduous campaigning under Gen. Rosecrans. In 
November, Hayes was promoted to Lieut. Col., and was as- 
signed to the command of his regiment. 

In April, 1862, Lieut. Col. Hayes moved his regiment 
from winter quarters, and on the 1st of May made a bril- 
liant dash on Princeton, driving the rebels from the town, 

193 



194 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

and capturing prisoners and arms. On the 10th of May, at 
Giles' Court-House, he was attacked by a greatly superior 
force, and fought all day, gradually falling back a distance 
of five miles. He managed to choose his own position, 
kept the enemy at bay, and inflicted m uch greater inj ury than 
he received. His skill and coolness in handling his forces 
on this occasion were deserving of great praise. 

In August, he received orders to march with all possible 
dispatch to the Great Kanawha. The regiment made about 
104 miles in three days, embarked on transports for Par- 
kersburg, and took the cars for Washington, where it joined 
McClellan's army. It was here attached to the Division of 
Gen. J. D. Cox ; and, marching into Maryland, arrived at 
Middletown, September 13th. On the 14th began the bat 
tie of South Mountain, resulting in the greater battle of 
Antietam on the 17th. 

The first shots at South Mountain were fired by Hayes's 
regiment, which, at an early hour, was ordered to ascend 
the mountain by an unfrequented road. It surprised and 
captured the enemy's picket, and vigorously assailed the 
main line sheltered behind stone parapets; but received 
from their greatly superior force so heavy a fire of musketry 
and canister shot, that in a few minutes 100 officers and 
men, out of 350 men who went into action, were killed or 
wounded. Among the latter was Hayes, who had an arm 
badly broken. He was not, however, ready for ambulance 
or hospital ; and soon reappeared on the field with his 
wound half dressed, and fought until he was so weak that 
his men had to carry him away. 

After the battle of Antietam, Hayes was promoted to a 
Colonel, and ordered with his regiment to the Kanawha 
Valley, where, in December, 1862, he was placed in com- 
mand of the First Brigade of the Kanawha Division— a 
famous organization. 

In the battle of Opequan, Col. Hayes's brigade, after ad- 
vancing across several open fields, gained the crest of a 
hill, and caught a glimpse of the enemy's line. Moving 




RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 195 

forward, under a heavy fire, it dashed through a fringe of 
underbrush, and halted on the edge of a slough forty yards 
wide, and nearly waist deep. Seeing his whole line waver- 
ing, Col. Hayes plunged into the morass under a shower of 
bullets and grape, and was the first man over. The infantry 
floundered across after him, and the enemy were driven 
hack. At Winchester a succession of brilliant charges 
were made by his brigade, and in leading one of them his 
horse was shot under him. 

Gen. Early, with his shattered army, now fell back to 
Fisher's Hill, eight miles south of Winchester, and took up 
a strong position between two mountains. Sheridan fol- 
lowed sharply, and impetuously assailed this new strong- 
hold. Crook's division was sent around to the right to en- 
velop Early's right and rear ; Col. Hayes' command led 
this movement, and, by making a detour through a series 
of ravines, arrived at a point on Early's flank, deemed un- 
assailable. Clambering up the steep side of North Moun. 
tain, covered with trees and underbrush, the division, un- 
perceived, gained a position close to and in the rear of the 
•nemy, and then charged them with such fury that they fled, 
routed and terrified, leaving many guns and hundreds of 
prisoners to the victorious soldiers. 

Col. Hayes was at the head of his column throughout 
this brilliant charge, directing the movements of his 
troops, and by his example of personal daring greatly 
adding to their enthusiasm and impetuosity. During this 
terrible campaign he was wounded four times, and three 
horses were shot from under him. He was now promoted 
to brigadier-general " for gallant and meritorious service in 
the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek ;" 
and was breveted major-general " for gallant and distin- 
guished services during the campaigns of 1864 in West 
Virginia." In the spring of 1865 he was given the com- 
mand of an expedition against Lynchburg, and was prepar- 
ing to cross the mountains of West Virginia, when the war 
was brought to a close. 



196 RUTHERFORD B. HATES. 

While still connected with the army, in the fall of 1864, 
Gen. Hayes was nominated for Congress by the Republicans 
of the Second District of Ohio. Soon afterwards he re- 
ceived a letter importuning him to return home and make 
the canvass. To this letter he replied as follows : 

" In Camp, Oct. 2. 

Yours of 29th ult. is received ; thanks. I have other 
business just now. Any man who would leave the army 
at this time to electioneer for Congress ought to be scalped. 
Truly yours, R. B. Hates." 

He was elected to Congress by a large majority, and took 
his seat in 1865. He was re-elected to Congress in 1866. 
but resigned in August, 1867, on receiving the Republican 
nomination for Governor of Ohio, and entered actively upon 
the canvass. The opposing candidate was Judge Thur- 
man, and the contest was a very close one ; but Mr. Hayes 
was elected by a majority of nearly 3,000 votes. 

In 1869 he was re-elected Governor by an increased ma- 
jority, his opponent being Geo. H. Pendleton. After his term 
of office had expired he resumed the practice of his profes- 
sion. In 1872 he was a candidate for Congress, but was de- 
feated by Henry B. Banning, a Liberal Republican. 

In 1875 he was again nominated for Governor, notwith- 
standing his letter of withdrawal in favor Judge Taft. 
During the canvass which followed, Gov. Hayes was for two 
months constantly on the stump, making speeches in al- 
most every county, and sometimes two or three a day in as 
many different places; and the great victory for hard- 
money which was won by the Republicans of Ohio was due 
in a great measure to his efforts. He was elected by 5500 
majority over the defeated candidate, Gov. Allen, who had 
been considered invulnerable by his party. 

As a Governor, Mr. Hayes has shown good executive 
abilities, and gained great popularity, not only among Re- 
publicans, but with men of all parties. He stands upon 
record as a gentleman and patriot, unblemished in name, 
character, and conduct. 



WILLIAM A. WHEELER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



William A. Wheeler was born at Malone, Franklin Coun- 
ty, New York, June 30th, 1819. At the age of Beventeen 
years he entered the University of Vermont, where he 
remained two years. He then left college and began the 
study of law. On completing his studies he opened an 
office in his native town, became popular, and was nomi- 
nated by the democrats for District Attorney of Franklin 
County. He was elected to the position and held it for sev- 
eral years, discharging his duties in an able and impartial 
manner. 

Subsequently, Mr. Wheeler was elected a member of the 




WILLIAM A. WHEELER. 

State Legislature on the Whig ticket. At the close of his 
term he became cashier of a bank in Malone, and remained 
connected with it for fourteen years, displaying judicious 
judgment in all his business transactions. He also became 

197 



198 WILLIAM A. WHEELER. 

interested in railroads, and was president of one company 
for eleven years. 

When the Republican party was made up from the 
Whig organization he followed its fortunes, and in 1858 
was elected to the State Senate, where he was an active 
member, and served for two terms as President pro tern. 
His ability and integrity were so well understood that his 
party removed him to a higher sphere of action by electing 
him as Representative to the thirty-seventh Congress from 
the Sixteenth District. He proved to be a faithful repre. 
sentative, consistently supporting the Republican Party, 
and upholding all measures for the suppression of the re- 
bellion. After his term had expired he passed three or four 
years in private life. 

In 1867 Mr. Wheeler was elected a member of the State 
Constitutional Convention, and was chosen as its presiding 
officer. In 1868 Mr. Wheeler was again a successful can- 
didate for Congress. He represented his District in the 
forty-first Congress ; and being re-elected at each successive 
election by large majorities, he has been continuously a mem- 
ber of Congress up to the present time. 

In 1869, Mr. Blaine, then speaker of the House, appointed 
him Chairman of the Committee on the Pacific Railroad ; 
he afterward held the same position, and served on various 
committees. 

In 1874, he was appointed Chairman of the Congressional 
Committee who visited New Orleans to settle the disturbing 
questions which then prevailed in Louisiana, and it was 
mainly owing to his exertions that a peaceable settlement 
was obtained. The compromise agreed upon by the Com- 
mittee (known as the Wheeler Compromise) was adopted 
in good faith by Republicans and Democrats, peace was 
restored, and good feeling soon prevailed among all classes 
of citizens. 

Mr. Wheeler is a sterling man, able, discreet, experienced 
in public affairs, and universally respected for his excellent 
qualities and unquestioned integrity. 



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